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COPYRIGHT PF.Posrr. 



AN INQUIRY 



OONCEBNINO 



THE BOSS FAMILY 



AND 



THE NAME BOSS. 



CORBESPONDENOE BETWEEN 

WILLIAM GRAHAM BOSS, 

Edinburgh, Scotland, and 

HENRY RUSH BOSS, 

Chicago, n. S. A. 




CHICAGO: 
THE BEN FRANKLIN COMPANY, 

232 iBVmG AVENUB. 

1902. 



thP. lurary of 

eONGRESS, 
T\i»o C -ee Receiveo 

?<«AR. f© 1902 

. Corvw«HT ENTBY 

CUASd «-' XXc. No. 

COPY a 



Copyrighted, 1902. by Henry R. Boss. 



\N FOREWOED. 



One day about the midMe of the month of May, 
1898, looking round an old hooTcstall in Leith Walk, 
Williamsons by name, I chanced on a bundle of odds 
and ends marked at the low price of twopence, and 
from a cursory examination of the bundle, thinki/ng 
it might contain something of interest, I became the 
possessor. After making another purchase I hied 
me to my working den to weed the lot, and as it hap- 
pened I consigned most of the twopence worth to the 
waste paper, including a copy of the Superior Printer, 
printed and published somewhere in America, and I 
thought I was done with superior printing, but at a 
leisurely moment, a few days after, on passing the 
waste box, this Superior Printer again caught my 
eye, and I looked over its pages more carefully than 
before, when behold an extract on ''Reading Print- 
ers/* from a magazine called The Ink Fiend, came 
into view, and, glancing over the paragraf, the name 
of my future correspondent, the printer of these 



sheets, attracted my notice. I read the extract and — 
well, there was something about the sentences and 
matter which struck me, so that I made up my mind 
to write Me. H. K. Boss, whose name I had stumbled 
on in this manner. For this purpose I rolled up the 
sheet, intending to take it home and have another 
look over it previous to writing. On the way home, 
when calling for my monthly magazine, I handed my 
superior printed treasure to the shopgirl to be rolled 
up therewith; but alas, on arriving home I found the 
precious sheet had slipped out of the roll by the way, 
and was now lost to me. So there was nothing left 
for me but to draw on my memory for the facts 
stated in my post-card as printed at page 9 of this 
volume. 

8uch is the history of my initiatory steps to the 
following imperfect letters of mine, put together at 
spare intervals, and begun without any intention of 
publication. And, although rather belated, I desire 
to thank the postoffice officials at Chicago for their 
courtesy in forwarding my post-card to Me. James 
W. Tuenee; to whom my thanks are also due for 
transmitting it to my friend. I also return thanks 
to all those who, though not numerous, have kindly 
furnished me with replies to my enquiries concern- 



ing the name and its bearers, or who have given infor- 
mation about kindred matters. 

For the satisfaction of the curious with reference 
to the illustrations, I may say that my great-grand- 
father's signature, at page 25, is from the subscribed 
copy of the Solemn League and Covenant, preserved 
in Queen Ann Street Church, Dunfermline, of which 
he was one of the original members, and where he 
filled the office of a deacon for ahout twelve years. 
And the other zincografs are from drawings by me, 
unless otherwise mentioned; they are left in outline 
to be coloured by hand if the possessor is so inclined. 

Edinburgh. W. G. B. 



PREFATORY. 



The origination of this book is well told by Me. 
William Gkaham Boss in his "Foreword.'' When 
I began the printing of these letters it was with the 
expectation that they would make a pamflet of forty 
or fifty pages, and that they might be of interest to 



the small number of members of the Boss Family of 
whom I then knew. The worlc, however, has exceeded 
my anticipations and grown into a booh, and the dis- 
covery has been made that the Bosses are much more 
numerous, in all parts of this country, at least, than 
I had any idea of. 

In the preparation of my part of this booh I have 
been hampered by the indifference of many of whom 
I have sought information, who have utterly neg- 
lected to reply to my letters, and by the ignorance of 
many others who have never known, or have failed to 
remember, much of the family history. Lack of pe- 
cuniary means has prevented my having researches 
made in libraries and public offices in various parts 
of the country; and I have been forced to content my- 
self with such information as I could obtain from 
meager sources. 

If the present volume is successful in awakening 
a proper interest in the subject, and in making re- 
turns for the money I have expended upo7i it, it will 
be followed by one or more other volumes, which it 
is hoped will be of interest and value, and, possibly, 
result in tracing the history of the families of the 
three brothers who, I am persuaded, were the first of 



the name to settle in this country, and in finding 
many of their descendants of the present day. 

To those who have answered my queries, to man/y 
others who have aided by suggesting possible sources 
of information, and especially to Mr. William 
Gkaham Boss, who has contributed so much to this 
book, I return my hearty thanks. 

H. R. B. 




*^ 



"Every family should have a family genealogist, 
******* j^^g extraordinary how 
often, even in pedigrees of a/mient families, modem 
facts about cadets are despised. Regrets begin after 
the links are lost." 

The Scottish Antiquary, July, 1901. 



*^ 




WILLIAM GRAHAM BOSS. 



THE BOSS FAMILY-THE NAME, BOSS. 



From William Graham Boss. 

[Postal-card, addrest: "Mr. , the editor of 'The Ink Fiend,' 

or The Secretary of the Printing Trade in Chicago, U. S. 
America." Indorst: "If the P. O. at Chicago wonld kindly 
endeavour to hand this to the proper quarter, such a serv- 
ice would be esteemed with thanks. — W. G. B." Forwarded 
to James V7. Turner, the last publisher of The Ink Fiend, at 
Lagrange, 111., and by him sent to Henry R. Boss, Chicago.] 

16 Union Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, 
May 26th, 1898. 

Dear Sir : Early in 1888, perhaps in the month 
of March or April, there appeared in a printer's trade 
journal, called T]ie Ink Fiend, which was published 
in Chicago, a contribution on " Beading Printers," by 
a Mr. "Henry E. Boss." My object in writing this 
is to ascertain if you could kindly place me in com- 
munication with Mr. Boss, for the purpose of making 
enquiries with reference to his and my own name, as I 
am collecting information relating thereto. Although 
I have a number of cousins in U. S. A., I am not 
aware if this Mr. B. is one. 

Should this reach Mr. Boss, perhaps he would 
kindly let me know at his convenience any traditional 



10 



account or otherwise of the name if he has ever heard 
anything. I may say that I am a native of Scotland 
and that the name is a very old one here. I am also 
aware that it is found in England, France, Germany, 
etc., but I can not say if in these countries the name 
had the same origin as in Scotland. 

Thanking you in advance for any trouble which I 
may cause, I am Yours faitlifully, 

Wm. Graham Boss. 



Henry R. Boss to William Graham Boss. 

[Letter.] 

232 Irving Avenue, 
Chicago, III., July 28, 1898. 
Mr. William Graham Boss. 

Dear Sir : Your postal-card to the editor of The 
Ink Fiend (which publication expired five or six years 
ago) reacht me some days since, and I take the first 
opportunity to reply to it. 

If there is any relationship between us, it is so 
distant that we might as well be named Smith or 
Jones. As nearly as I have ever been able to trace 
my genealogy on my father's side, my great-great- 
grandfather (possibly his grandfather or great-great- 



11 



grandfather) was one of five brothers who emigrated 
to this country from Holland so long ago that I have 
no record of it. One settled in Connecticut, one in 
New York (State), one in Virginia and one in Penn- 
sylvania ; where the other went I have no means of 
knowing. My family record is as follows, so far as I 
know it : 

Father, Henry B, Boss, b. in Saratoga County, N. Y., 
1807; died in Forestville, N. Y., 1842. 

Grandfather, William Garner Boss, b. 1776, d. 1836. 

Great-grandfather, William Boss, d. 1801. [His wife, 
Silvia Boss, died September 1, 1819, "aged 74 years."] 

Great- great- grandfather, Peter Boss. [This statement is 
based on tradition only.] 

Farther than that I can not go, except I make an 
effort to search the records of Connecticut, Massa- 
chusetts (where some of the family settled) and other 
states. I believe that the state of New York never 
(until quite recent years) required records to be kept 
of births, marriages, etc. I have never had time or 
means — or very much inclination — to look the mat- 
ter up. So far as I have ever been able to learn, none 
of the family has ever been in the penitentiary, or 
has ever been hung. We inherit from our ancestors, 
I hope, their sturdy integrity, but none of us have 
ever become famous. 

The name Boss is a good Dutch word signifying 
"master," and the word is in common use in this 
country to designate a foreman, superintendent, etc. 
It is sometimes employed in an opprobrious sense, as 



12 

when applied to a selfish manipulator of partizan pol- 
itics, as "Boss Croker," etc.* 

I am glad you have written on this subject, and I 
shall be glad to hear from you again. I was sur- 
prised at learning there were any bearing my name 
anywhere in the United Kingdom. 

Very truly yours, Heney E. Boss. 



William Graham Boss to Henry R. Boss. 

[Letter.] 

16 Union Street, Edinburgh, 
August 11th, 1898. 
Mr. Henry R. Boss, Chicago. 

Dear Sir : Your letter of July 24th duly to hand. 
As you say, and I agree with you, there is not 
likely to be any relationship between us, your forefa- 
thers having gone from Holland to America, unless 
they were sprung from a Scotch settler there ; even in 



*It is also frequently used as an adjective, denoting 
excellence. Some years ago, when my daughter was but a wee 
chick, I took her out for an afternoon walk. Seeing a sign, 
" The Boss Cigar Store," the little one said, " Pa, when they 
want to call anything good, they name it ' Boss,' don't they ? " 



13 



this case, the relationship would be remote, however 
interesting to trace. 

In the latter part of the sixteenth and during the 
seventeenth centuries there were a great number of 
Scotch in Holland, engaged in the wars principally, 
fighting on both sides ; there are a number of families 
in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Eussia, etc., 
who are descended from Scotch military adventurers 
of that and earlier times. There was also a consider- 
able trade carried on between Scotland and the Low 
Countries from an early date, and tliis intercourse 
may have had an effect on the present form of my 
name, as my ancestors were settled in Fife, one of 
the chief counties from which trade was carried on, 
and during the seventeenth century there was quite a 
number of Dutch in that county ; their descendants 
are found there at the present day. In one coast 
town — Dysart — there was a specially large number 
of them, and the town was known locally as " Little 
Holland." 

From enquiries which I have made so far, and 
from the tradition in our family, there is nothing to 
lead to the supposition that my ancestors came from 
Holland. The earliest mention which I have found 
in the county of Fife is in the year 1494, the name 
being spelt in the printed record "Bos; " the bearer 
was a " John Bos," whom I find within a few miles of 
the district where my great-grandfather was a farmer. 
The name in the form "Boss" is not found in any 



14 



other part of Scotland until the early part of this cent- 
ury, and as far as I have gone back all the members 
were related. 

My father was James Boss, 1802-1885. 

My grandfather was William Boss, 1760-1839. 

My great-grandfather was David Boss, 17**-1789. 

I am in the same position as you here, that I can 
not go any further back at present. 

The characteristics of my family are very similar 
to yours, in that none of them have been famous or 
infamous, as far as I am aware. Apropos of charac- 
teristics: the real "Bosses" here are said to have 
grey eyes, and fair hair when children; of course 
there are some who have dark eyes, the efifect of mar- 
riages ; the usual height of male adults about five feet 
nine or ten inches. Has any observation been made 
of this in your family ? 

I believe the original form of my name was " de 
Bois;" in early Latin documents it is "deBoscho" 
and " de Bosco." The first appearance of them in 
Scotland is about 1170; and the spelling "de Bois," 
" de Boyes," etc. continued till the latter part of the 
fifteenth century, when the prefix "de" was dropped 
and the name was spelt "Boiss," "Boyes," "Boice," 
"Boas," "Bos," etc.; there are about three dozen 
varieties of spelling. I have not found out when my 
name was first spelt " Boss," but should suppose it to 
be about the latter part of the sixteenth or early in 



15 



the seventeenth century. There is a tradition in the 
family of a change having been made at some time in 
the spelling of the name. 

There are so few of our name in Scotland that I 
thought it might be possible that you were descended 
from an early emigrant from this part of the globe. 
Two of my uncles emigrated to the States about 1830- 
40, and their families are now in various places there. 
My cousin Janet wrote me from Oswego some time 
since, and she mentioned that there are two firms of 
the name in New York, one inkmakers and the other 
watchcase-makers. Although my cousin has met peo- 
ple who knew them, she did not learn if they were of 
Scotch descent. Do you know if they are a branch of 
your family ? 

It is possible they may be Jews, as I came across 
a Jew, "Matthew Boss," in business in London. 

With reference to the Dutch word *' boss," I have 
referred to a dictionary, and the nearest I find is : 
"bos," a bunch, bundle, hank, truss, etc.; "bosch," 
wood, forest, etc. ; " maastur," master. Boss is a well- 
known term here for master, in a slang sort of way, 
and is looked on as an Americanism. 
I am yours faithfully, 

William Graham Boss. 

French — Bosse, hunchback; bossu, humpback. 

German — Bose, evil, wicked. 

Scotch — Boss, hollow, empty, a small cask. 



16 



Willia7n Graham Boss to Henry R. Boss. 

[Letter.] 

Edinbuegh, 16 Union Street, 
Oct. 7th, 1898. 
Mr. Henry E. Boss, Chicago. 

Dear Sir : In my former letter I made no mention 
of the earliest members of my name who are on record 
as being settled in Fife. The earliest notice of them 
occurs in 1434 — William de Boys, ofi&cial of St. An- 
drew's, etc. ; and Alexander Boys in 1438, who is bai- 
lie of Kirkcaldy in 1448 ; and in the same record* there 
occurs a Henry de Boys, burgess of Kirkcaldy. Then 
in 1450 a David de Boys is vicar of Cleish, which, al- 
though not in Fife, is just next to it ; and in 1462-64 
David Boys, master of works to the CroM^n, and cus- 
tumer of the salt custums at Dysart, where an exten- 
sive manufacture of this article was carried on for 
about three hundred years after this date ; from very 
early times it was largely exported to the continent, 
Holland especially. 

After 1464 I have not found the spelling " Boys " 
in Fifeshire, the forms after that date being "Boist," 
"Bos," "Bost," "Bowse," "Boost," etc.; and these 
forms are only found in Fifeshire or immediately 
adjoining parishes. The traditional account of the 
reason for the change in our name is that the spell- 

*Eegister of Dumfermline Abbey. 



17 

ing was altered to distinguish one branch of the fam- 
ily from another in the same neighborhood. 

The Christian names, William, Alexander, David, 
Andrew, James, John, are found in use in our family 
as far back as I have traced them ; and the Fife bear- 
ers of the surname are said to be descended from the 
family of Panbride in the adjoining county of Forfar, 
the origin of which family is given by Hector Boece 
in his Chronicles of Scotland, which he printed at his 
own expense, at the Ascensian press, folio, Paris, 
1527 ; he says (about 1360) : 

Inter cseteros proavus meus Hugo Boetius ciijus pater 
ad Duplin occubuerat, Baro Drisdaliaa ex regia beneficentia 
connubio conjunctus est virgin! hseredi partis Baronatus Bal- 
brid, quam etiam hac s&tate quai'tus jam inde heres possidet. — 
Fo. cccxxxv, ed. 1527; Fo. 323, ed. 1574.* 

The Barons of Dryfsdale were the ear- 
liest settlers of the name in Scotland, and 
their arms were Argent a saltire 
and chief azure, which were also 
the arms of the Panbride branch, 
who added a mullet in honour point for 
difference, to show descent from a younger 

* The following is from the Scotch translation made for 
King James V about 1530: "Amang sindry othir that war 
rewardit at this time, Hew Boece, grandschir to Maister Hec- 
tor Boece, compilar of the Cronikils, gat, in recompence of his 
faderis slauchter at Dupline, the heritoure and lady of the 
barony of Balbrid givin him in mariage; quhilk barony is yit 
possedit be the airis of the said Hew," (Note: The word 
"grandschir" is Scotch for great-grandfather.) 





18 

son. Probably the above Hugh would be third son of 
Sir Humphrey de Bois, who was killed in 1332. 

Eef erring to the term " boss " as applied to a man 
of status, I find it in use here in the sixteenth century. 
John Knox, in his History of the Eeformation of Eeli- 
gion in Scotland, which was written, between 1559 
and 1571, uses the word in tliis sense. To take one 
instance, under date of 1544, referring to a sermon 
preached by the Archbishop of Glasgow at Ayr to 
combat the doctrines of the Reformers, he says, writ- 
ing in a derogatory connection: "The Archbishop 
preached to his jaekmen and to some old bosses of 
the town." 

I am inclined to think it is an English term as 
applied to a man of status or position, although it has 
almost passed out of our vocabulary, yet at the time 
of the colonization of America it would be in ordinary 
use and would be introduced there by the English emi- 
grants. 

I am yours truly, W. Graham Boss. 



Henry R. Boss to William Graham Boss. 

Chicago, November 5, 1898. 
Mr. William Graham Boss. 

Dear Sir : I am now convinced that what I wrote 
you, in July last, about the five Boss brothers who 



19 

came to this country and settled in different states, is 
erroneous, so far, at least, as any connection with my 
family is concerned. 

In 1858 or 1859, — at which time I was publish- 
ing a newspaper in the western part of Illinois, — I 
had some correspondence with the late Daniel W. 
Boss, then a prominent railroad man in Chicago, in 
regard to our common name. Unfortunately, I have 
preserved none of that correspondence ; but the fol- 
lowing letter from an uncle of Mr. Boss settles the 
question as to any connection between that branch of 
the family and my own : 

Leesbttrg, Va., Feb. 28, 1861. 
Mr. Henry E. Boss. 

Dear Sir: I am in receipt of yours of February 25, and 
in reply : My father came from Germany, together with several 
brothers. One or two, I think, settled in New York or New- 
England States, one in Baltimore (Adam Boss), one in Nor- 
folk, Va. (Christian Boss). My father's name was Peter Boss. 
I have {sic) several brothers, all dead, except one in Washing- 
ton, D. C. — Abraham J. Boss. Daniel W. Boss, whom you 
refer to, is the son of my brother, Daniel C. Boss, dead some 
years since. My father died in 1818; my mother died in 1825. 
Daniel W. Boss' father, my brother, died some years since, in 
Pittsburg, where he Hved 

One of my brothers, Nicholas Boss, died when I was a 
child — Bay 1802 or 1803 — so long ago I do not remember 
him; he died, I think, in Pennsylvania. 

We may be related, though I can not trace it out. As 
stated above, I had two or three uncles who remained north of 

the Potomac 

Yours, S. M. Boss. 



20 

The unearthing of this letter from S. M. Boss — 
I think his name was Samuel — first called attention 
to the error. Daniel W. Boss and I came to a hasty 
conclusion that we were connected through the five 
brothers referred to. I never gave the matter any 
farther attention until now. 

The following is an extract from a letter in reply 
to one written by me to Mrs. Betsey (Jackson) Swift, 
of Forestville, N. Y., a granddaughter of my great- 
uncle, Peter Boss, — of whom more hereafter. I have 
every reason to believe it reliable. It was written by 
Mrs. Swift's granddaughter, Miss Marie Avery : 

My grandmother seems to have had no fancy for remem- 
bering dates or for inquiring about the careers of even her 
most dietinguisht ancestors; but my mother says that her 
grandmother* used often to talk of her ancestry, and espe- 
cially of the three brothers (the heads of this branch of the 
Boss family) who were navigators, and upon coming to Amer- 
ica settled in New York, on the Mohawk,-j- receiving a deed of 
their land from the Indians, which was to be theirs " as long 
as grass grows and water runs." Mother did not realize of 
what great interest this woiild be to the Bosses of these later 
days, and so she either failed to learn the names of the three 
brothers, or has forgotten them; however she can vouch for 
the truth of the story — that is, it is just as her grandmother 
told it to her. 

So it is doubtless true that my family came from 
one of three brothers who settled in the state of New 



*Amy (Boss) Jackson. 

f Whence the term " Mohawk Dutch." 



21 

York, and not from one of five brothers who scattered 
to different parts of the Union. 

In a copy of " The Original Lists of Persons of 
Quality .... and others who went from Great 
Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700," ed- 
ited by John Camden Hotten, it is recorded that a 
ticket from Barbadoes was granted to 

Whitehead Joseph, in the Ship Three Brothers, Peter 
Boss, Comand''. security. 

Who knows but this Peter Boss was my great- 
grandfather ? 

In Volume I of "American Ancestry," publisht 
by Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, N. Y., 1887, I find 
the following : 

BOSS, LEWIS, Albany [N. Y.]; son of Samuel P. Boss, 
of Scituate, R. I.; son of Benjamin, b. 1759, d. 1849, served 
five years in Revolutionary war; son of Benjamin, b. 1727, son 
of Edward, b. 1685, d. 1752 (m,, 1709, Philippa Carr), free- 
man, 1713; son of Edwakd Boss (m. Susannah Wilkinson), 
settled in Narragansett, R. I., May 17, 1710, when he bought 
vacant lands sold by the Assembly; he died about 1724., The 
family is of Dutch origin. Name spelt Bosch and afterward 
Bos. 

In "British Family Names," pubhsht in London, 
1891, by Elliott Stock, is the following : 

Boss. Fr., Bosse; D., Boss; G., Dch., Bos; jd. n. 

No further intimation than this is given — no ink- 
ling as to where, in England, any bearing this name 
may be found. 

Yours very truly, Henry R. Boss. 



22 

William Graham Boss to Henry R. Boss. 

Edinburgh, 16 Union Street, 
November 2l8t, 1898. 
Mr. Henry R. Boss, Chicago. 

Dear Sir : Your letter of November 5th received. 
It is of great interest. After reading it perhaps I 
should have addressed you as "Cousin;" and after 
all I am strongly inclined to think that you are off 
the same stock as myself, as will appear by the fol- 
lowing facts. 

In the extract which you give from Miss Marie 
Avery's letter — the whole tenor of which extract is 
so like our tradition — your ancestors had a deed of 
lands from the Indians to be theirs "as long as grass 
grows and water runs." This is very remarkable. Is it 
not possible that the mention of *' Indians " is an error 
introduced in the course of time through being trans- 
mitted orally from one generation to another? Of 
course, if such a deed is extant there can be no doubt 
about the matter. 

Now it so happens that this identical tradition, 
minus the " Indians," has been handed donm in my 
family ivordfor word, referring to a tenure of land for 
" as long as grass grotvs and water runs." I have 
heard the same from my father, and also from my 
aunt, Jane Boss, and others — sometimes with this 
addition, that the lands were to remain in the family 
provided the descendants bore the name of "Boss," 
which may mean that, if the elder line ended in a 



23 

female, the next heir-male was to succeed ; or it may 
mean that the husband of an heir-female should as- 
sume the name ; but, however this may be, there is 
no doubt about the tradition. I will just remark fur- 
ther that I believe this phrase, " as long as grass," 
etc., to be a peculiarly Scottish one in old legal docu- 
ments. 

Another point which appears along with the fore- 
going to strengthen my opinion of relationship is the 
name of your great-grandfather, simply "William 
Boss," and the date of his death, 1801. He was con- 
temporary with my great-grandfather, David Boss, 
who died in 1789 ; this just leaves twelve years be- 
tween their deaths ; probably your great-grandfather 
would be a younger brother ; and again my grandfa- 
ther was William Boss, born about 1760, died in 1839. 
Here comes in a good old Scotch custom of naming 
children after their parents and near relatives. In 
connection with this feature, although I made enqui- 
ries some time since I could not ascertain who my 
grandfather was named after. What would be more 
natural for my great-grandfather than to name one 
of his sons after his brother, or after the same man 
whom bis brother was named for, whoever this may 
have been? 

If you could ascertain the age of your great- 
grandfather when he died, it is possible his birth may 
be found in the registers here, although there have 
been great irregularities in keeping the parish regis- 
ters. The names of his father and mother would 



24 

probably be entered also, thus taking us back another 
generation. 

Another consideration which leads me to the same 
conclusion is, you mention that the three brothers are 
said to have been sailors. Well, my family have been 
inhabitants of the seacoast for many generations, 
and we know that a love for the sea is just like many 
other hereditary characteristics : it runs in the blood. 
When my father was a boy he was taken one or two 
voyages for the benefit of his health, to Holland and 
the Baltic, by his cousin, Captain Graham (son of 
Agnes Boss, or Graham), who traded to those parts. 
Then my uncle, David Boss, who settled in Oswego, 
U. S. A., was a ship-carpenter and sailed round the 
globe, I don't know how often, but he was on the sea 
most of his life. Then my grand-cousin, also David 
Boss, was a ship-carpenter ; he stayed at Kincardine 
on Forth, here. Then my cousin. Captain William 
Burgess (probably named after his grandfather, Will- 
iam Boss), son of my father's sister,^ Margaret Boss, 
or Burgess, sailed between Liverpool and New York ; 
he was lost with his vessel — the Anglo Saxon (steam- 
er), I think was her name — while on a voyage to New 
York, about forty years ago, in the vicinity of Cape 
Eace ; his mdow and family removed from Liverpool 
to her parents' home, in or near New York, after this 
disaster. (I am not aware if Mr. Gellet Burgess, 
author of " The Purple Cow," is a descendant or not.) 
Captain Burgess' brother Ralph is m business at To- 
ronto. 




HENRY RUSH BOSS. 



25 

As I have mentioned one disaster, perhaps in this 
place I may mention David Boss, my eldest brother, 
who, although not a sailor, was wrecked near Halifax, 
Nova Scotia, while on his way to Boston, about 1873, 
in the White Star Line steamship Atlantic ; he was 
one of the few survivors of that disaster, and since 
then has been settled in Manitoba, Canadian N. W. 
There are a number of other cousins who were more 
or less connected with the sea ; also a Captain John 
G. Boss, R. N., in the early part of this century, who 
may have come off the same stock, judging from cir- 
cumstantial evidence ; but I am enquiring. 

In my family there are other traditions, which 
may be found in yours. Could you ascertain if there 
is anything said about the name itself, or anything 
about a change in the name, however unlikely it may 
appear to you, the smallest scrap would be of service. 

If you could obtain a copy of your great-grand- 
father's signature it might show if he had been trained 
in the same school as mine, a copy of whose auto- 
graph I append, taken from a public document dated 
at Dumfermline May 29th, 1746. There are peculiar 







characteristics in the hand, showing no little artistic 
taste. Look at the beautiful form of the letter B, for 
instance, or any of the letters. The writer appears 
to have been a man of superior taste ; this is more 



26 

apparent in the original document, where the names 
are arranged in two columns on the page, this one 
being the center name in the second column, contain- 
ing twenty-three names. The signature is distinctive 
in character and shows a man of capacity, which is 
borne out by facts. The signature also shows an in- 
herited natural taste, and may be of interest to you, 
as it would probably be derived from the same sources 
as the members of your family may be indebted to 
for a part of their natural taste at least. 

Also, if you could recover the name of your great- 
grandfather's wife* and the names of their family, 
also the names of the other brothers and any of their 
children's names, it would help to show if there was 
any connection; and if you could ascertain their 
church connection it might show in which way they 
had been brought up. Do you know if any of them 
were Freemasons ? I find four of my family mem- 
bers of St. John's Lodge, Dumfermline, between 1739 
and 1792 ; one of them the above David, probably. 

My great-grandfather was a Presbyterian, and 
seems to have taken an interest in the church ques- 
tions of his time in Scotland — I am glad to say on 
the side of freedom and progress in these matters. 
His wife's name was Agnes Watt, and their family 
consisted of five sons and four daughters ; as far as I 

*A11 I have ever been able to learn of her was given in 
my letter of July 28, 1898. See page 11 of this work. 

H. R. B. 



27 

have learned, their names were David, James, John, 
William, Andrew, Agnes, Helen, Margaret, Isabell, 

With reference to the lands which my forefathers 
are said to have possessed, I find lands in their neigh- 
borhood mentioned in 1537, called "Boys' Croft." 
This may be the lands referred to, or it may have 
been in another quarter ; but I am enquiring as oppor- 
tunity offers. 

The Peter Boss, commander of the Three Broth- 
ers, may have been one of an earlier generation. I 
will try and see the work mentioned. 

Returning to the history of our name in Scotland : 
All accounts agree in stating that it is of French ori- 
gin, and that they came over at the time of the con- 
quest of England in 1066, or shortly thereafter. The 
name Bois appears in most of the lists of the com- 
panions in arms of Duke William of Normandy which 
were compiled in his time or immediately after. 

The earliest Scotch chronicle in which the name 
is mentioned is that of Sir Thomas Gray, written in 
the early part of the fourteenth century, while he was 
a prisoner in Edinburgh Castle. To quote from Hill 
Burton's History of Scotland, Sir Thomas Gray " tells 
how King William the Lion brought with him (1174- 
75), when returning to Scotland from his captivity,"* 
younger sons of the families to whom he was indebted 
for courtesies, and how he endowed them with lands. 



*Kmg William was taken prisoner by the English, in 
battle, and passed his captivity in England and Normandy. 



28 

"We can not take the passage as precise statistics. 
We may get more from it by counting it as the shape 
into which the chronicler put the traditions of the mi- 
gration of the great Norman houses to Scotland. In 
this view the list of names is instructive : . . . . 
" Si estoint ceaux dez Baillolfs, de Bruys, de Soulis, et 
de Moubray, et les Saynclers, les Hayes, les Giffardis, 
les Eamesays, et Laundels ; les Biseys, les Berkleys, 
les Walenges, lez Boysis, les Mountgomeries, lez Vaus, 
lez Colevyles, lez Frysers, les Grames, les Gourlays, 
et plusours autres." 

Also Hector Bois* in liis Chronicle gives a similar 
list of names. In Volume II, page 281, edition 1821, 
after mentioning the names of those who came out of 
Hungary, he says : " Mony othir 
surnames, be sindry chances of 
time, came out of France in 
Scotland; as Frasier, Sinclare, 
Boswel, Mowtray, Montgumme- 
ry, Campbel, Boyis, Betown, Tai- 
lyefer, and Bothwel ; with mony 
othir." 

This list is also repeated by 
Sir David Lindsay, Lyon King 
of Arms, in his Scots Armorial, 
compiled about 1542; it is the 
oldest Scotch Armorial in exist- 

Keduced copy, half the size of rv> • i • 

original. cuce aud an official register cer- 

* Commonly called Hector Boece. 




29 



DE BOISI OK BOISSY, 

lie de France. 

Azure sem^ of fleur de lis argent. 



tified by act of Parliament. From the facsimile 
printed edition I send you a copy of the arms of 
"Lord Boyis of Dryvisdaill of Auld." Dryfsdale is 
situated in Dumfriesshire and takes its name from 
the Water Dryffe, which flows tlirough it and is tribu- 
tary to the Eiver Annan, wliich gives name to Annan- 
dale. In these early times to which I have referred 
the Bruce family were Lords of 
Annandale, and the Bois family 
were among their feudal vassals ; 
the Bois arms are the same as 
the Bruce, with a difference in 
color to distinguish them, and 
are what are called feudal arms. 
The arms of the Bruce family 
are blazoned. Or, a saltire and 
chief gules. 

As bearing on the statement 
that the Bois family originally 
came from France there is the 
name in the original form. Then, 
why should the colour of the 
arms be white and blue ? They could have been any 
other colour excepting those of the feudal superior. 

On referring to the Berry Armorial de France, 
1450, I find a family "de Boisi," or "Boissy," He de 
France, bearing arms of the same tinctures — blue 
and white, Azure seme of fleur de lis argent, as in 
the enclosed sketch. Also another family in France, 
at an earlier date, bearing the same arms — Bois- 




Bebky Aemobial de Fbanoe, 
1450. 



30 

Glani, quarterly first and fourth Azure seme of fleur 
de lis argent, second and third Argent frette gules — 
about 1425. 

Then, to return to Scotland, we find, probably 
late in the twelfth or early in the thirteenth century, 
a Walter del Bois using a seal having a fleur de lis 
for the central figure. — Henry Laing's Catalogue of 
Ancient Scottish Seals, Volume II, 1866 : 

No. 109, Walter Bois. A fleur de lis of a slender and 
elegant fonn, not on a shield. (Legend) "Sigil Walter! del 
Bois." Appended to a charter by Walter del Bois of three 
acres of land at Karmderes to St. Cuthbert's, Durham — Dean 
and Chapter of Durham. 

Placing these facts together, and bearing in mind 
that it was a heraldic practice for younger sons, when 
they acquired a position for themselves, to adopt arms 
somewhat different from their fathers', in many cases 
taking other figures entirely, but retaining the pater- 
nal colours ; in this light there is a strong probability 
that the colours, white and blue, of the Bois arms are 
derived from France, if not from the same family 
stock as Boisi — He de France. 

In this letter I have mentioned lands called Boys' 
Croft, situated in the barony of Clackmannan, which 
was held by a branch of the Annandale Bruce family 
from about 1360 until about 1770. In the history of 
this family mention is made of the Boises of Dryf sdale 
having married daughters of the Bruces lords of An- 
nandale. This is very probable, as it would be a 
means of mutual strength in the contests of those 



31 

times. The history of the name bears this out as far 
as I have seen, numbers of them serving the state in 
various positions before and after the Bruce family 
were advanced to the Scottish throne. 
I am Yours truly, 

William Graham Boss. 



Henry R. Boss to William Graham Boss. 

Chicago, June 30, 1899. 
Mr. William Graham Boss. 

My Dear Sir : Your reasoning in regard to our 
relationship, on account of the occurrence of similar 
given names in your family and mine, is ingenious, 
at least ; and your theory on this point may secure 
some confirmation before we are done with this inves- 
tigation. The names Andrew, David, Peter and Will- 
iam occur in my family, but that proves little in 
favor of your theory. The only Andrew I know of 
(Andrew J.) probably derived his name from the hero 
and President, Andrew Jackson, as his father was, I 
believe, a stanch Democrat and an admirer of *' Old 
Hickory." 

The "good old Scotch custom" of naming chil- 
dren after their parents and near relatives does not 
prevail in this country to the same extent as it does 



32 

with you, as can be seen in the case of my own fam- 
ily. The following are taken from the lists of names 
in my family Bible :* 

William G, Boss (my grandfather), b. May 18, 1776; m, 
Leah Storms Oct. 14, 1795; d. Sejot. 19, 1836. 

Leah (Storms) Boss, b. Feb. 4, 1779; d. Nov. 18, 1858. 

Their children were : 

Hiram Boss, b. Feb. 4, 1797 (on his mother's 18th birth- 
day); m. Sarah Ann Rogers May 25, 1823; d. 18—. 

David Boss, b. May 18, 1799; m. Eliza Swan March 18, 
1823; d. at Lyons, N. Y., July 27, 1847. 

William Boss, b. July 2, 1801 ; d. Aug. 15, 1819. 

Melinda Boss, b. Sept. 14, 1803; d. July 18, 1805. 

Selinda Boss, b. Aug. 8, 1805; m. John Keeler May 25, 
1824; d. March 6, 1863. 

Henry Ball Boss, b. May 6, 1807; m. Ann Adelia Dix 
June 24, 1834; d. May 18, 1842. 

My grandfather's brother, Peter Boss (b. 1755, 
d. at Forestville, N. Y., 1812), married Catherine 



* My family record, as I term it, consists of entries on the 
blank pages left for that purpose, between the Old and New 
Testaments, in a Bible "printed and published, wholesale and 
retail," at Saratoga Springs, N. T., by G. M. Davison, in 1826. 
My grandmother and my father purchased this Bible, paying 
for it in cider. The earlier entries in it are in the bold, round 
hand of my grandfather, the last made by him being that of 
the marriage of his daughter Selinda, in 1824; then follow 
entries made by my father, the last being dated 1834; the 
next entries are in my mother's handwriting, while the later 
ones have been made by myself. 



33 

Storms (b. at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., 1773, d. at 
Forestville, N. Y., 1854), a sister of my grandmother, 
Leah (Storms) Boss. (They were said to be sisters of 
General Isaac Storms ; but how or where he obtained 
his military title, or any other particulars in relation 
to him, I have never learned.*) The children of Peter 
and Catherine Boss were : 

Polly Boss, b. June 15, 1794; m. Willoughby. Chil- 
dren: Maria, Peter, Wellington, Ann. 

Eliza Boss, b. March 28, 1795. 

Isaac Boss, b. Sept. 4, 1797. Children : Eliza, Hamilton, 
Henry Benjamin. 

Ebenezer Boss, b. Nov, 7, 1799. Children: Leverett, 
Washington, Harry, Kate. 

Amy Boss, b. Jan. 20, 1802; m. John Jackson. Children: 
Betsey (Swift), Mary Elizabeth, Eleanor Catherine. 

Peter F. Boss, b. in Saratoga County, N. Y., July 4, 1804; 
m. Elizabeth Jones (b. at Litchfield, Conn., Dec. 3, 1816); 
d. at Mukwonago, Wis., Dec. 15, 1878. Children: Andrew J., 
Leander P., Caroline E., Katie E., Eva M. 

George W. Boss, b. July 4, 1806. Children: Marjorie, 
Margret, Edgar, Hattie, Lizzie, Maria. 



*My cousin, Mrs. Annie (Boss) Newell, of Sheridan, 
N. Y., daughter of Alvin C. Boss, writes me: "I remember 
when I was very small my Grandmother Boss receiving com- 
pany from Saratoga Springs — two brothers and their wives, 
named 'Storms.' They drove from their home in a double 
carriage, and Father drove to Fredonia after Aunt Leah, your 
[my] grandmother, to visit with them. They remained at 
our house about a week, — very intelligent people and inter- 
esting, — but we never heard from them again, as I remember." 
I have an indistinct recollection of this visit. 



34 

Alvin Cornell Boss, b. May 20, 1808; m. Laurentia Mal- 
lory (b. at Keeseville, N. Y. ) ; d. 1875. Children: Summer, 
Annie (Mrs. Oliver Newell), Jerome, Jennie, Frank W., Polly. 

This great-uncle, Peter Boss, was buried on his 
own farm, near Forestville, N. Y. Forty-two years 
later, when his wife, Catherine, died, his remains were 
disinterred for removal to the village cemetery. The 
casket (in a good state of preservation), when opened, 
exposed his perfect form and features, even to a flush 
on his face, but the corpse immediately crumbled to 
dust on being exposed to the air. 

The names I have given above coincide in part 
with those given by you ; but they do not greatly aid 
your theory of relationship. 

I presume that my father's middle name (Ball) 
was given liim in honor of Rev. Eliphalet Ball, one of 
the early settlers of Ballston Spa, and after whom 
that now celebrated watering-place was named. This 
Mr. Ball, it is said, was a third cousin of President 
George Washington. 

Of the traditions regarding the family I know but 
little, as I have been separated from my older rela- 
tives the greater portion of the time since I was about 
fourteen years of age. My father died when I was 
seven, and in my fifteenth year I left school and set 
out to make my own way in the world. Consequently 
I have heard very little of the traditions that probably 
were known even in the generation preceding mine. 
Now, nearly or quite all that generation have passed 
over to the great majority; and, unless the present 



85 

and younger generation have heard and preserved 
these traditions, they will probably remain forever 
iini'ecorded. I find it very difficult to secure replies 
to the few letters I have been able to write, and there 
are but few of my relatives on my father's side whose 
present whereabouts are known to me. 

One of the traditions I have heard is to the efifect 
that there are immensely valuable landed interests in 
New York City, belonging to the Boss family, which 
might be recovered if only the line of descent could 
be authentically traced. I have never given the mat- 
ter any serious attention, believing the claim to be on 
a par with those in the celebrated "Anneke Jans" 
case, which seem to me to exist only for the enrich- 
ment of a few lawyers. 

The phrase, "as long as grass grows," etc., is 
not necessarily Scotch, I think. If my memory serves 
me correctly, it was used in some of the transfers of 
lands by the Indians in the state of New York. It 
would seem to be an appropriate form to express an 
Indian's idea of "forever." Mrs. Betsey Swift insists 
that it was Indians who gave the deed referred to on 
page 20 of this work ; she obtained the story from her 
grandmother, Catherine Boss. 

As to physical characteristics I can not give you 
much information. My father and my Uncle Hiram 
were rather short, square-built men, say about five 
feet eight inches high. The sons of Peter Boss, how- 
ever, were, most of them, tall and spare, nearly or 
quite six feet high ; his daughter Amy, as I remember 



36 

her, was large and quite stout. Blue or gray eyes 
and brown hair have generally prevailed. 

I know little or nothing of the religious connec- 
tions of the earlier members of the family. I believe 
my grandmother, Leah Boss, was an Episcopalian, 
and some of her children were Universalists ; while 
her sister, Catherine Boss, was a Baptist. Little can 
be predicated on this, however, as the early settlers in 
a new country, — as Western New York was then, — 
when churches were scarce, were apt to form such 
religious connections as they could, rather than such 
as they desired. 

From a History of Saratoga County, N. Y., I 
learn that my grandfather held the office of collector 
of taxes of the town of Milton, being elected thereto 
in 1810 and 1811 ; and his son, my Uncle Hiram, was 
elected to the same office in 1826. 

In a list of marriage licenses issued in the prov- 
ince of New York, compiled by the late Dr. Edward 
B. O'Callaghan, are the following. Dr. O'Callaghan 
gives the volumes and pages of the books where these 
are recorded, and a copy of his work is in the Public 
Library of Chicago : 

1778, July 11. Boss, Betty, and John Titley. 
1735, July 20. Boss, Elizabeth, and John Parsall. 
1772, August 31. Boss, Jacobus, and Mary Miller. 
1761, April 21. Boss, Sarah, and Lawrence Harmon. 
1758, Sept. 8. Boss, Susannah, and Simon Losse. 

In response to my inquiry regarding the above, I 
have received the following letter from Mr. Arnold 



B7 

J. F. van Laer, sub-librarian having charge of manu- 
scripts in the New York State Library. The varia- 
tions in names are as they appear in the records : 

Albany, N. Y., June 28, 1899. 
Henry K. Boss, Esq. 

Dear Sir: In reply to your inquiry of tbe 17th inst., I 
will copy what information can be obtained from the marriage 
bonds which you indicated. 

Vol. XXV, p. 124. Jolin Titley and Peter Vanderburgh 
of New York bound themselves for the sum of £500 on the 
11th of July, 1778. John Titley obtained a license for him- 
self of the one party and Betty Boss of New York, spinster. 

Signatures: John Titley, John Van der Bxu-gh. 

In the presence of J. Moore. 

The earliest records of licenses are in the form of a list 
givinpf only the names of the contracting parties and the date of 
issne. 

Vol. 1, p. 2. 20 July, John Parsall and Elizabeth Boss. 

Vol. viii, p. 166. Lawrence Harmen of the city of New 
York, mariner, and George Furman of said city, carpenter, 
the 21th of April, 1764. Lawrence Harmen obtained a license 
for himself of the one party and Sarah Boss of the city of 
New York, spinster. 

Signatures: Lawrence Hardman, G. Furman. 

No witness given. 

Vol, xix, p. 37. Henry I. Sleight of Ulster County, 
mariner, and Laurence Kilbrun of the city of New York, mer- 
chant, the 31st of August, 1772. The above bounden obtained 
a license for Jacobus Boss of Ulster Cotmty, blacksmith, of 
the one party, and Mary Miller of said county, spinster. 

Signatures: Hend. I. Sleght, Laurence Kilbrun. 

In the presence of Jn^- Grumly. 

Vol. ii, p. 11. Simon Lossee of the city of New York* 
mason, and Teunis Thew of the same city, mariner, the 8th of 



September, 1758. The above boitnden Simon Loesee obtained 
a license for himself of the one party and Susannah Boss of 
New York, widow. 

' his 

Signatures: Simon ^^^^^^ Loseee, Theunis Thew. 
In the presence of JnP- Gadby, 

The names of the various husbands do not appear in our 
Revolutionary records, so that the above is all the information* 
I believe, I can give you. 

Respectfully yours, 

Abnold J. F. VAN Laer, 
Sub-Librarian Manuscripts. 

Mr. van Laer kindly adds the following informa- 
tion from the " Clinton Papers," in the State Library : 

April 17, 1778 — No. 1299: "The Evidence of Joseph 
Gordens is as follows : . . He says he heard Francis Elswert 
and Joseph Gooding — both of Shohawken — Say that they 
would Come about five Weeks hence with the Indians and 
Tories to take all the Wigs at Cashithtown, namely, . . 
And the persons which would not be hurt, that were King's 
men, viz., Joseph Boss, . . ." 

July 11, 1780 — No. 3150, p. 79: "Nicholas Boss, of 
Capt. Vandeburgh's company. Charged with Disobedience of 
orders in the Late alarm. Pleads that he has no shoes & says 
he is under Recognizance to appear before the Commission- 
ers once a Month & Recons it hard to serve two Masters. . .'» 

No place or age is mentioned. 

Mr. van Laer adds : 

Since so many different spellings of the name occur, and 
as it seems probable that the family came from Holland, I 
might mention here that our Dtitch records contain a paper 
dated 6 December, 1646, showing that Jan Willemsen Bos, 
carpenter, built a house for Dirk Holgers, on Long Island. 



39 

In another letter Mr. van Laer gives the follow- 
ing information concerning the term *' boss : " 

The Dutch for master is Baas, which is pronounced by 
country people, and the lower classes generally, quite broadly, 
somewhat Uke Boss, and has in this way become incorporated 
under that form in the English language. Bos and Bosch 
are very common in Holland, and are found among all classes 
and conditions of people. 

Some time ago I received the following letter from 
Mr. Eobert P. Boss, of Boston, Mass. Sad to relate, 
Mr. Boss' pleasure trip was transformed into a jour- 
ney of sorrow, by the death of his wife, a few days 
after leaving home. Mr. Boss is troubled with an 
affection of his eyes, which interferes with his reading 
or writing ; but he has promist me that, when he shall 
have recovered therefrom, he will assist in our inves- 
tigation : 

Boston, AprU 19, 1899. 
Mr. Henry R. Boss. 

Dear Sir: . . . As I am due to go away on a trip 
South, to be gone two weeks, I can not enter into any extended 
correspondence now; but, when I return, will endeavor to give 
you all the data I possess. 

The family has aU the characteristics that W. G. Boss 
mentions, and in appearance they are apparently the same as 
ten generations ago. 

The first Edward Boss* (my progenitor) is supposed to 
have come from Holland; was married to Susannah Wilkinson, 
about 1770, in Providence, R. I. As near as I can make out, 

*Se6 notice of Lewis Boss, page 21. Also see list of the 
American descendants of Edward Boss, on pp. 50 ef seq. 



40 

they were both Quakers; they were both buried from the 
Quaker church in Providence on the same day ; the date I do 
not renaember, but have it at home. Will give you facts later. 
The Christian names are Edward, William, Peter, Joseph, John. 
Nicholas. Our branch for several generations has been located 
in Newport, R. I., where I was born. 

Hoping we may in the future evolve something in the 
family line more satisfactory, I am 

Yours truly, R. P. Boss. 

PS. I had two uncles, Joseph and John, and an aunt 
who married a Bliss, who settled in Genesee County, N. T., 
over fifty years ago. 

My friend, Andrew J. Mouat, a master-printer of 
this city, claims kinship with you, thru his mother, 
Mrs. Laurence Mouat, nee Elizabeth Boss. 

Her father was Andrew Boss, 1806-65; ro. Jean Nicol. 

Grandfather, William Boss; m. Margaret Graham. Those 
were your grandparents also. 

Great-grandfather, David Boss, b. in the early part of the 
eighteenth century; m. Agnes Watt. 

The following of the other children of Andrew 
and Jean (Nicol) Boss are now living in this country : 
William, at Emerald Grove, Wis. ; Alexander, near 
Independence, Iowa ; David, at Pomona, Cal. ; Jean 
(Mrs. S. J. Safiford), at Augusta, Kan. 

I thank you for the suggestion as to the Masonic 
connections of the members of the family. Perhaps, 
if I can find where to write, I can obtain some infor- 
mation that will be of value. I have been told that 
my grandfather, William G. Boss, was a Eoyal Arch 
Mason (as I am myself), and that my uncle, Hiram 




LEAH (STORMS) BOSS. 

Born February 4, 1779; died November 18, 185S. 



41 

Boss, was a Master Mason. My great-uncle, Peter 
Boss, was also a Mason, and his Masonic apron is in 
the possession of his grandson, Andrew J. Boss, of 
Mukwonago, Wis. 

This letter is of a desultory, almost fragmentary, 
character; but I trust the information here recorded 
will afford us clues to more important discoveries. 

Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain 
Yours very truly, Henry E. Boss. 



William Graham Boss to Henry R. Boss. 

Edinburgh, 16 Union Street, 
August 14th, 1899. 
Mr. Henry E. Boss, Chicago. 

Dear Sir : Your letter of the 30th June to hand, 
which contains many facts of interest ; and it is his- 
torically valuable to learn how your great-uncle was 
buried on his own farm. I suppose that the country 
would be sparsely peopled at that time. 

Judging from the name of your great-grandmo- 
ther, — Silvia, — which is by no means common here, 
I should think that, even supposing that her husband, 
WilUam, was born in this country, it is probable they 
were married in America; and it would be in the 
names of the first generation born there that we 



42 

might expect to j&nd the greatest agreement with the 
names of the contemporary generation here. 

Perhaps it is true the legal phrase, " as long as 
grass grows," etc., may not be exclusively Scotch, but 
it was used here to denote a perpetual holding, and 
the tradition in our family here, in the latter part 
of the last century and early part of the present 
one, was that they held lands under this form, and 
the family had been settled in the western district of 
Fifeshire for about four hundred years. This coin- 
cides very nearly with the earliest mention of the 
name in contemporary local records (see page 16), 
the form of the name at that time being " de Boys " 
in the record. Then we have the tradition that the 
name was altered to its present form to distinguish 
one branch of the family from another. The story 
handed down from one generation to another, with 
reference to this, is, that two members of the family, 
probably cousins, had the same christian name, and 
they were near neighbours ; so it came about, in the 
course of affairs, that the one was mistaken for the 
other and used to receive letters, etc. which were for 
the other, and vice versa. To put an end to the in- 
convenience which this caused it was agreed that my 
ancestor should take the spelling which we have con- 
tinued to use to the present ; wliich spelling renders 
the common pronunciation very well, being a long, 
soft syllable, the o having a sound like oa in oak. We 
are the only family in Scotland who use this form of 
the name, and it has been a common saying among 



43 

us that we are all related, although there are not so 
many of the name here at present compared with the 
numbers about sixty years ago ; even then it was a 
small group. They seem to have gone in for emi- 
grating largely in comparison with their numbers. 

There are other branches of the name in Fifeshire 
which I believe are sprung from the same stock, al- 
though the connection has been lost, such as the 
names Bowes, Bowsie, Bousie, Buist; these differ- 
ences originated in some instances in a similar way 
as in our family ; the family of Bowsie have a similar 
story accounting for the difference from Bousie ; and 
the practice of making a difference in the spelling 
was just borrowed from the heraldic practice of mak- 
ing a difference in the armorial bearings of cadets of 
a family — the arms were retained with a difference 
to distinguish them ; equally the name was retained 
with a difference in spelling. At the time our change 
was made this would be much better understood than 
at the present day, when heraldic usage is understood 
only by the few. 

But to return to your letter : Apart from the In- 
dians having no written language, and the terms of 
the deed being in English, it would be doubly interest- 
ing to find your ancestor when he contracted with the 
savages for the lands, getting the form, " as long as 
grass grows," etc., inserted in the document. Per- 
haps he thought of what he had heard at home in the 
old country, and had an idea of settling down under 
his own vine and figtree and perpetuating the ancient 



44 

usage in the New World. I wonder what he called 
his new possession : would it also be an echo of home 
memories, some name familiar to him from his child- 
hood, with all its fresh, unsullied associations and 
endearments ? or would it be a presage of a new and 
better state and changed conditions of life ? 

Mention is made at page '20 that your ancestors 
settled on the Mohawk. I find from E. H. Roberts' 
New York, Commonwealth Series, page 415, that the 
farmers of the Mohawk Valley, at the time of the 
Revolutionary War, were mostly German and Low 
Dutch by blood, with a few English, Scotch and other 
nationalities, whose names are on the roster. If this 
could be referred to, perhaps your ancestor might be 
found among them. 

The extracts from the state records are of much 
interest. The earliest one, July 20, 1735, containing 
the name Elizabeth, is noteworthy, as this name is 
found here in 1755, when James Boss, my great- 
grandfather's brother, has a daughter baptized by 
this name. It is curious to find a Jacobus or James 
married to a Mary Miller in 1772 ; the Latin form of 
his name may have been due to a whim of the Re- 
corder. I have not found any of the others in our 
family, and of course the above are common names. 
Evidently Susannah bore her late husband's surname. 

There can be no doubt of the name " Bosch " be- 
ing common to natives of Holland, just as "Wood" 
is very plentiful as a surname in English-speaking 
countries. Although I can not point to any particu- 



45 

iar mem'ber of my family who settled in Holland, it 
would be strange if there were none, considering the 
great intimacy which existed for centuries between 
the two countries and my family having been settled 
for so many years in the trading district of Scotland 
nearest to Holland. There is an instance of a de- 
scendant of the Panbride family having apparently 
settled in Amsterdam. I find, from the Spalding Club 
extracts from the Burgh of Aberdeen Eecords, a John 
Boys, about twenty-three years of age, " at present in 
Amsterdam," son of Thomas Boys, Treasurer, receives 
a grant of a birth-certificate, under the burgh seal, in 
1674. If he left descendants there, possibly they 
would conform the name to the usage of the country. 
The name has a great variety of spellings in rec- 
ords here. Before there was any fixed rule, every 
scribe appears to have been a law unto himself in this 
respect, to some extent. I gather from the records 
that the common pronunciation has not altered for 
centuries. This is apparent as early as 1494 (see 
page 13), where the record, as was usual, gives the 
abbreviated form " Bos," which has sometimes been 
mistaken for an abbreviation of the name Boswell ; 
shortly it represents the common broad monosyllable 
in speech. This is borne out by a reference to Hec- 
tor Bois' History, a quotation from the Scotch version 
of which I have given at page 28, where the spelling 
is " Boyis." The same passage in the original Latin 
edition of 1527, as written by the author, has the 
spelKng "Boas," which indicates that the common 



pronunciation was just much the same as at present, 
and it also shows the author to have been perfectly 
aware of how his countrymen pronounced his name, 
although the spelling in documents varied greatly. 

In the National Manuscripts of Scotland, edited 
by Colonel Sir Henry James, is given a facsimile of 
an ancient manuscript having this inscription on the 
margin at the bottom of the page : 

CoUegii aberdonensis ex dono Magistri Hectoris 
Bois primi Primarii eiusdem.* 

Probably this was written by the librarian before 
or about 1535, the year in which the donor died, as I 
find from the seal of the Panbride family in 1505 (of 
which family the Principal was a son), the spelling 
of the name is " Boies." I believe this form is more 
peculiar to Dumfriesshire, and it serves as a connect- 
ing link for the Panbride family with the parent house 
of Dryfsdale, as mentioned at page 17. 

The forms Boas, Boss, Boes, Bowes, Poece, are 
all monosyllables, and the last one appears to have 
been first been made use of by Ballenden in his trans- 
lation of the Chronicles out of the Latin into Scotch, 
about 1536, and he knew quite well that this form 
which he adopted for the author's name was just giv- 
ing typographical form to the popular usage of the 
name. It has been remarked by a writer, in refer- 
ence to the form Boece, that it is not likely to have 

* The property of the College of Aberdeen, by the gift of 
Master Hector Bois, first Principal of the same. 



47 

ever been actually bonie by anyone of the name. I 
agree with this, as I have not seen it as a personal 
name in any other work or record. Nevertheless it is 
a very felicitous rendering representing the common 
pronunciation. 

Another noteworthy feature is that these mono- 
syllabic forms retain this characteristic of the original 
name " Bois ; " and it is remarkable that the common 
lingual utterance of the people of the eastern low- 
lands has also preserved this feature through the 
centuries to the present day; where the letter i is 
silent in the spoken name, thus it came in the course 
of time to be written, in the eastern lowlands, without 
that letter. 

In the southwestern parts of Scotland I believe 
the form Boyes is the only one prevalent, and is pro- 
nounced as two syllables — Boy-es. The Irish form, 
again, is said to be of one syllable, written Boyce. 
The forms Bowsie and Bousie are of two syllables, 
and are peculiar to the East Neuk of Fife, just as my 
own name was originally of western Fife. The forms 
Boiss, Boys, Boyss, with many other varieties, are 
only found in records. 

At the present time among the middle classes the 
pronunciation of my name takes a somewhat smart 
form, the o partaking of the sound of the same letter 
in " shot," or at other times approaching the sound 
of letter a in *' Bass." 

I find that, with some people who bear my name 
for the first time, I am taken for a German or -a Dutch- 



man. May not a similar thing haTe happened witb 
some bearers of the name in America, and, in the 
absence of sufficient evidence to the contrary, the as- 
sertion or assumption has been put into print and 
taken for gospel ? In my own case I have had occa- 
sion to put people right on this score. 

" . . what time bath blurred, 
Bedeem truth from his jaws.'' 

The following are a few words which are or have 
been in ordinary use in Scotland, having the same 
pronunciation in common speech as my name, and 
which probably have given rise to the influence which 
has settled the name into its'present spelling : 

A boss window — Probably a bow window. 

Old bosses — Later equivalents, old fogies, bigwigs, guv- 
nors. 

Boss, Boce — Hollow. 

Bos, Boiss* — A cask. 

Bossie — A small wooden dish. 

Bost, Buest, Bosse, Boist,* Boiss* — A box or chest, 

BoBslock — Probably a doorlock made almost entirely of 
wood. 

Bossheid (Bosshead) — The iron hollow receptacle fast- 
ened to the standard of a doorway to receive the lock-bolt, etc. 

Boysis* — Bilboes, fetters. 

A Bosen, or a Boss — Is a three-sided wooden frame- 
work, about seven feet in height, formed like a miniature spire, 
used by farmers for placing in the center of grain-stacks, 
forming a hollow for ventilation. 

*The i and y silent. 



49 

Boss, Boce — An architectural ornament in use early in 
the medieval period to the present time, and familiar to archi- 
tects, masons, carpenters, etc. 

I am indebted to a local antiquary for the follow- 
ing list of Masonic brethren who have long passed 
away to their reward. Let us hope that they lived 
lives that were ensamples to their immediate poster- 
ity and brethren : 

St. John's Lodge, Dunfermline, No. 26. 
Andrew Boss, mason in Balingry, entered iu 1739. 
David Boss, no designation, entered in 1764. 
John Boss, no designation, entered in 1764. 
David Boss, mason lq Dunfermline, entered in 1792. 

Faithfully yours, 

Wm. Graham Boss. 



Chicago, III., October 28, 1899. 
Mr. William Graham Boss. 

My Dear Sir : Your letter is very interesting in 
regard to the pronunciation of the name Boss. With 
us, the o has the sound of oa in the word broad, or of 
au in haul, the name rhyming with moss. 

Mr. Kobert P. Boss, of Boston, has redeemed in 
handsome manner the promise made in his letter of 
April 19 last. I am indebted to him for the following 
information concerning the American descendants of 



50 

Edward Boss, of whom mention has been made on 
pages 21 and 39 of this work. Tho I feel almost con- 
vinced that tliis branch of the family has no connec- 
tion with mine, I have sent you a copy of the record 
and give it here in full, that we may have it for refer- 
ence, especially in case my investigations should de- 
velop any relationship with the Edward Boss branch : 

AMERICAN DESCENDANTS OF EDWARD BOSS. 
FIKST GENEBATION. 

(1) Edward Boss, of South Kingston, E. I. b. Germany 
or Holland, 1651. d. Aug. 12, 1724, in South Kingston, R. I. 
m. Susannah Wilkinson of Providence, R. I. (a great-aunt of 
Jemima), who was b. Feb., 1662, and d. Aug. 15, 1724. They 
were both Quakers. Her mother was Susannah Smith (d. 
1692), wife of Lawrence "Wilkinson of Providence, R. I. (d. 
Aug. 9, 1692), and dau. of Christopher Smith of Providence, 
R. I. (d. 1676), and his wife AUce (d, 1681). 

SECOND GENEKATION. 

(2) Edward Boss, of Newport, R. I. b. Jan. 20, 1685, 
in Newport, R. I. d. Dec. 25, 1752. m. Phillis Carr of Can- 
nacut or Jamestown, E. I., April 20, 1709. She was b. Dec. 8, 
1688, of Caleb Carr of Jamestown, R. I. (d. 1690), and PhiUia 
Greene of Warwick, R. I. (b. Oct. 7, 1658, d. before 1706). 
Caleb Carr was son of Robert Carr of Newport, R. I. (b. 1614, 
d. 1681). Phillis Greene was dau. of John Greene Jr. (b. 
1620, d. Nov. 27, 1708) and Ann Almy (b. 1627, d. May 17, 
1709). John Greene Jr. was son of John Greene of Warwick 
(b. 1597, d. 1658) and Joan Tattersall. Ann Alray was dau. 
of WiUiam Almy and his wife Audry. 

(3) Jeremiah Boss, of Westerly, R. I. b. about 1697. 
d. about 1774. m. Martha SiDencer of Exeter, R. I., March 
22, 1722, who was b. Sept. 8, 1700, and d. 1774. She was 



61 

dau. of Robert Spencer of North Kingston (b. Nov. 6, 1674, m. 
July 15, 1697, d. 1748) and Theodosia Whaley of Kingston. 
Theodosia was dau. of Theophilus Whaley of Kingston, thought 
to be the regicide judge (b. 1616, d. about 1720), and Eliza- 
beth Mills (b. 1645, d. 1715). Robert Spencer was son of 
John Spencer (d. 1684) and his wife Susannah (d. April 
12, 1719).* 

THIRD GENERATION. 

Children of (2) Edward Boss. 

(4) Mary Boss. b. Sept. 1, 1710. d. — 

(5) Freelove Boss. b. 1712. d. 1791. 

(6) Abigail Boss. b. 1715. d. 1715. 

(7) Edward Boss. b. 1716. d. — 

(8) Hannah Boss. b. 1719. d. 1732. 

(9) Susannah Boss. b. 1720. d. — 

(10) Joseph Boss, of Newport, R. I. b. Jan. 30, 1722. 
d. Aug. 14, 1807. m. Elizabeth Linscom of Newport, R. I.» 
Aug. 8, 1756, who was b. in Brandon, Ireland, in June, 1725, 
and d. Sept. 24, 1807. She was dau. of James Linscom of 
Newport (b. 1700, d. Oct. 17, 1753). 

(11) Unnamed child, b. 1724. d. same day. 

(12) PhilUs Boss. b. 1725. d. 1728. 

(13) Benjamin Boss. b. 1727. d. 1824. 

(14) Unnamed child, b. 1729. d. same day. 

Son of (3) Jeremiah Boss. 

(15) Peter Boss, of Richmond, R. I. b. Sept. 30, 1732. 
d. — . m. Sarah Gardiner, or Gardner, of South Kingston, 



* The Narragansett Historical Register, in a list of births 
in the town of Charlestown [R. I.?], has the following: "Chil- 
dren of Jeremiah and Martha Boss, 1724-1735: Richard, Ed- 
ward, Susannah, Jeremiah, Martha, Peter, Joseph, John and 
Hannah." Query: Can these be the Jeremiah and Martha 
Boss referred to above? H. R. B. 



52 

R. I. (b. April 29, 1736), dau. of Caleb Gardiner of South 
Kingston and Isabel Sherman of Kingston (b. April 9, 1719, 
m. Feb. 20, 1734). Isabel was dau, of Dorcas Gardiner and 
Abiel Sherman of Kingston (b. Oct. 15, 1684, m. Oct. 20, 
1712). Abiel was son of Sampson Sherman of Portsmouth 
(b. 1642, m. March 4, 1675. d. Jan. 27, 1718) and Isabella 
Tripp of Portsmouth (d. before 1718). Sampson S. was son 
of Phillip Sherman of Portsmouth and Sarah Odding. Isa- 
bella Tripp was dau. of John TripjD of Portsmouth and Mary 
Prime. 

FOUKTH GENERATION. 

Children of (10) Joseph Boss. 

(16) WilHam Boss, of Newport, R. I. b. Feb. 24, 1767.- 
d. — . m. Edith D. Prior of Newport, R. I., Sept. 22, 1793, 
who was born April 23, 1773. 

(17) John Linscom Boss, of Newport, R. I. b. May 6, 
1757. d. Aug. 7, 1824. m. Sarah Boss of Richmond, R.* I., 
his second cousin, Feb. 21, 1779. 

Child of (15) Peter Boss. 

(18) Sarah Boss of Richmond, R. I. b. March 14, 1758. 
d. Sept. 22, 1841 or 1844. m. John Linscom Boss of Newport, 
R. I., her second cousin, Feb. 21, 1779. ^ 

FIFTH GENERATION. 

Children of (16) WHliam Boss. 

(19) Eliza Linscom Boss. b. Aug. 10, 1794. d. — 

(20) Christopher Prior Boss. b. May 20, 1796. d. — 

(21) WiUiam Davis Boss of Newport, b. April 10, 1799. 
d. March, 1883. m. Eliza D. StaU (b. Jan. 10, 1799. d. about 
1836 or 1837). m. Eliza M. Ambrose of Newport, R. I., Dec. 
30, 1838 (b. Sept. 7, 1811. d. April 24, 1863). 

(22) Martha Dickinson Boss. b. Nov. 20, 1797. d — 

(23) Thomas L. Boss, b, April 28, 1801, d. — 

(24) Sarah P. Boss. b. June 1, 1802, d, — 

(25) Robert P. Boss. b. Feb. 21, 1804. d. — 

(26) Charles Boss. b. Aug. 26, 1805. d. — 



53 

(27) John Henry Boss. b. Aug. 22, 1806. d. — . m. 
Hannah June 3, 1826 (b. Nov. 29, 1808. d. Feb. 4, 1883). 

(28) Abby Boss. b. April 19. 1808. d. — 

(29) Philip Martin Boss. b. Jan. 19, 1810. d. — 

(30) Charles Dickinson Boss, b. March 27, 1812. d. — 

(31) Joseph Boss. b. Dec. 10, 1813. d. — 

( 32 ) Catherine Gardener Boss of New York City. b. March 
20, 1816. d. — 

Children of (17) John Linscom Boss. 

(33) John Linscom Boss. b. Sept. 7, 1780, at Charles- 
town, d. Aug. 1, 1819. 

(34) James Boss. b. March 27, 1784, at Newport, R. I. 
d. March 4, 1805, at Berlin. 

(35) Joseph Boss. b. March 29, 1785, at Newport, R. I. 
d. Sept. 11, 1814, at Halifax. 

(36) Eliza Boss. b. Jan. 26, 1790, at Newport, d. Oct. 
2, 1790. 

(37) Unnamed child, b. April 24, 1792. d. same day. 

(38) PhUip Martin Boss. . b. Aug. 1, 1794, at Newport, 
d. Jan. 26, 1810. 

(39) Harriet Boss of Newport, R. I. b. July 12, 1797, 
at Newport, d. Nov. 21, 1887. m. Dutee Jerauld Pearce of 
Newport, R. I., Dec. 2, 1829. He was born April 2, 1789; d. 
May 9, 1849, and was the son of Samuel Pearce and Hannah 
Jerauld. He m. as first wife Abigal C. Perry, April 3, 1811, 
who d. July 4, 1827. Dutee Jeravdd Pearce was United States 
district attorney 1812, attorney-general 1819-1825, member of 
Congress 1825-1837, presidential elector 1821, 1825, 1848. 

(40) Nichols Gardner Boss. b. Jan. 8, 1799, at New- 
port, d. Nov. 17, 1836. 

(41) Joseph Elhot Boss. b. March 6, 1801, at Newport. 
d. March 5, 1886. 

SIXTH GENEEATION. 

Children of (21) William D. Boss and Eliza D. Stall. 

(42) Isaac S. Boss. b. April 11, 1823. d. — 



54 

(43) Nancy B. Boss. b. Oct. 18, 1825. d. — 

(44) Abby S. Boss. b. Dec. 15, 1827. d. — 

(45) WiUiam D. Boss. b. March 22, 1830. d. — 

(46) WiUiam D. Boss. b. Jan. 6, 1832. d. — 

(47) Charlotte E. Boss. b. March 25, 1834. d. — 

(48) Kobert P. Boss. b. Feb. 20, 1836. d. — 
Children of (21) WilUam D. Boss and Eliza M, Ambrose. 

(49) Robert Prior Boss. b. Saturday, Jan. 11, 1840, at 
4:15 a. m. m. Clarissa P. Pearce of Newport, R. I., Sept. 1, 
1861 (b. Dec. 23, 1842, d. May 7, 1899). She was the dau. of 
Benjamin W. Pearce of Swansey, Mass. (b. April 9, 1819, m. 
Aug. 2, 1841 ) and Clarissa Carpenter of Rehoboth, Mass. 

(50) William Ambrose Boss. b. Saturday, March 26, 
1842, at 4 p. m. 

(51) Charles Edwin Boss. b. Sunday, Jan. 7, 1846, at 
4 a. m. d. — 

(52) Edith Prior Boss. b. Saturday, Oct. 25, 1851, at 
4 p. m. d. — 

Children of ( 27 ) John Henry Boss. 

(53) Stephen P. Boss. b. Aug. 21, 1828. d. — . m. May 
22, 1851. 

(64) Edward J. Boss. b. May 7, 1830. d. Sept. 3, 1832. 

(55) Abby J. Boss. b. Oct. 1, 1833. d. — . m. Feb. 1, — 

(56) Mary C. Boss. b. Nov. 11, 183 5. d. Feb. 6, 1883 

(57) John H. Boss. b. Dec. 19, 1837. d. June 18, 1872. 
m. Feb. 13, 1864. 

(58) Lucy L. Boss. b. July 19, 1840. d. — . m. March 
15, 1864. 

(59) Hannah E. Boss. b. Oct. 11, 1842. d. — 

(60) Thomas E. Boss. b. Aug. 18, 1845. d. March 
19, 1862. 

(61) Timothy D. C. Boss. b. Nov. 22, 1848. d. — . 
m. Jan. 11, 1879. 

(62) Serena J. Boss. b. Oct. 14, 1851. d. — . m. May 
25, 1890. 



55 

ChUd of (39) Harriet (Boss) Pearce. 

(63) Dutee Jerauld Pearce Jr., of Newport, R. I. b. July 
27, 1833. d. — . m. Martha Palmer of Taunton, Mass., June 
11, 1862. She was the dau. of Stephen J. Palmer and Martha 
Hawkins, and was b. Nov. 15, 1842. 

SEVENTH GENEKATION. 

Children of (49) Robert Prior Boss. 

(64) Carrie Burnett Boss. b. May 15, 1862, at New- 
port, R. I. 

(65) Nellie Ambrose Boss. b. March 4, 1865, at New- 
port, R. I. 

( 66 ) Edward L. Boss. b. Aug. 30, 1875, at Boston, Mass. 

In regard to the first Edward Boss, mentioned 
above, I glean the following additional information 
from Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Isl- 
and, publisht by Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, N. Y., 
1887: 

He and seventeen others bought seven thousand acres in 
Narragansett of the vacant lands ordered sold by the Assembly. 
September 22, 1724, administration on his estate granted to 
his son, Edward Boss, of Newport. January 11, 1725, the 
Town Council ordered that Edward Boss, the eldest son of 
deceased, should have the land, he paying proportional sums 
to brothers and sister. [According to the foregoing genealog- 
ical record, this Edward Boss had but one brother and no sis- 
ter.] September, 1725, suit was brought by Henry Ejiowles 
Jr. and Susannah, his wife, daughter of Edward Boss, deceased, 
against Edward Boss, of Newport, for £140, due for a fifth of 
the homestead of 154 acres. It was declared that Edward 
Boss died about Augixst, 1724, leaving three sons, Edward, 
the eldest, Jeremiah and Peter, and one daughter, Susannah. 
In the inventory of the estate of Edward Boss is one " negro 
Abram, £60." 



56 

It is also stated that the second Edward Boss married 
Phillipp\_a^^ Carr. Their children: Mary, Freelove, Abigail. 

I have been "nosing around" among the books 
in one of our libraries, and have picked up a number 
of scraps of information. Tho they are of a fragment- 
ary character, they are worth recording here, and it 
is possible they may, at some time or another, make 
connecting links in the chain we are trying to form : 

In the Register of the Old Dutch Church of Kings- 
ton, N. Y., I find the following. The variations in the 
names of persons and places are " according to copy," 
and suggest how easy it would be to transform " Bos " 
or " Bosch " into " Boss : " 

MAKKIAGES. 

Dec. 6, 1711 — Jacobus Bos, "young man," and Eyke 
Van der Merke, "young woman," both residing in Mormer 
[Marbletown]. 

June 24, 1726 — Dirk Bosch, b. in Mormel, and Antjen 
de Lange, b. in Kingstown, and both residing vmder the juris- 
diction of Mormel. 

1728 (date not given) — Johannes Bosch, b. in Mormel. 
and Mary tj en van Etten, widow of Cornelius Ennis, b. in Horly 
[Hurley], and both residing in Mormel. Banns registered on 
April 21. 

1728 (date not given) — Johannes Kleyn, widower, and 
Angenietjen Bosch, both residing in Nieuw-Mormeltown [New 
Marbletown]. 

May 13, 1728 — Benjamin Ekerly, b. on Lange Eyland 
[Long Island], and Styntjen Bosch, b. in Mormel. 

1735 (date not given) — ^ Thomas Moor, b. in Lisebeton 
[Elizabethtown], and Maria Bosch, b. in Mormel, and both 
residing there. Banns registered Feb. 2. 




SAMUEL MATTHEW BOSS. 

Born at York, Pa., April 3, 1797; died at Leesburg, Va.. 
August 22, 1S72. 



67 

Dec. 12, 1682 — Joost Janz of Meteren, in Golderlandt, 
and Bara du BoiH of Kingston, reHiding in the Nieuwti PalH 
[New Paltz J. 

June, 1683 — Isaac dn 13oys, b. in Manheym, in the Pala- 
tinate, and residing in New Paltz, and Maria Haasbrouck, b. in 
Moudostad, in the German Palatinate. 

March 24, 1688 — Walrand du Mount, b. in Kings Touwn, 
and Cateryne Ter Eos, b. in Nieuw-Yorck [New York]. 

April 6, 1688 — Johannes Ter Bos, b. in Nieuw-Yorck, 
and Lysbeth Henderixen, b. in Kings Touwn. 

March 8, 1689 — David du Bois, b. in Kings Touwn, and 
Cornelia Vamoye, b. in Kings Touwn. 

March 8, 1689 — Jacob du Bois, h). in Kingstouwn, and 
Lysbeth Vamoye, b. in Kings Touwn. 

Jan. 17, 1697 — Matthys du Boys, b. in Horle [Hurley], 
and Sara Matthyssen, b. in Kingstouwn. 

Oct. 12, 1697 — Pietor du Boys, b. at Leyden [Leiden» 
the celebrated University town in Houth Holland ], and Jan- 
netje Burhans, b. at BraVjant [a designation for a part of the 
old town of Kingston], and both residing in Kingstouwn. 

March 26, 1699 — Jac<ib du Boy, b. in Leyden [Leiden], 
and Susanna Leg, b. in Kingstouwn. 

Jan. 19, 1701— Louwis du Boys, b. in Horle [Hurley] 
and residing near the Pals [New Paltz], and Rachel Hase- 
broeck, born and residing at the Pals. 

June 13, 1703 — Roelf Elting, b. in Horle and residing 
in Kingstouwn, and Sara du Boys, b. and residing in the Pals. 

June 2, 1713 — Philip Fiere, b. at Steyn-wiel [the present 
Steynweiler, a village of Bavaria, in the Palatinate, near Kjxn- 
del], in the Pals [Palatinate], and Lea du Boy, b. in the Pals. 

June 18, 1713 — Daniel du Bois, b. in the Pals, and Ma- 
rytjen Feber, born in the Pals. 

Sept. 22, 1713 — Abraham Buys, b. in Pakeepsy [Pough- 
keepsie], and Rachel Ter-Bos, b. in the Vis-kil [Fishkill]. 

April G, 1714 — Isaak de Boys, b. in Eangston, and Ra- 
chel de Boys, b. in the Pals. 



58 

April 23, 1715 — Barent du Bois, b. in Horly, and Jaco- 
myntjen du Bois, b. in Kingstowne. 

June 20, 1717 — Philip du Bois, b. in the Nieuw Pals, 
and Ester Gimaar, b. in Kingstown. 

April 16, 1718 — Louwies du Bois, b. in Kingstown, and 
Jannetjen van Vlied, b. in I^ngstown. 

Oct. 20, 1718 — Peter Van Est, b. in Sommersset [Somer- 
set County, N. J.], and Madeleentjen de Boys, widow of Geurt 
Roosa, b. in Kingstown. 

June 21, 1720 — Louwis du Bois, b. in Horly [Hurley], 
and Margrietjen Jansz, b. in Kingstown. 

Nov. 17, 1720 — Zymen Jacobsz Van Wageningen, b. in 
Kingstown, and Zara du Bois, b. under the jurisdiction of the 
Palts [New Paltz]. 

March 30, 1721 — Benjamin de Bois, born under the juris- 
diction of the Pals [New Paltz], and Catryntjen Zuyland, b. in 
Horly. 

June 17, 1722 — Hiskia du Bois and Annatjen Peersen, 
both parties born and residing under the jurisdiction of Kings- 
town. 

Dec. 9, 1722 — Petrus Math. Louw, b. in Horly, and 
Catrina du Bois, b. in the Pals, and both now residing in the 
latter place. 

April 20, 1723 — Godfried Wolven, b. in Hoogduytsland 
[Germany], and Zara du Bois, b. in Kingstown. 

Feb. 12, 1725 — Petrus Smeedes, b. in Kingstown, and 
Catrina du Bois, b. in Horley. 

May 13, 1726 — Nathaniel du Bois and Gertruy Bruyn, 
the former residing near the Pals [New Paltz] and the other 
in Savongonk [Shawangunk], where the marriage took place. 

Sept. 15, 1726 — Petrus Bogardus, b. in Kingstown, and 
Rebekka du Bois, b. in Horly [Hurley]. 

September 27, 1726 — Johannes Tappen and Tjaatjen de 
Bois, both parties born under the jurisdiction of Kingstown 
and residing there. 



59 

Nov. 10, 1727 — Efraim du Bois and Anna-Catrina de 
Lameeter, both parties bom and residing under the jurisdic- 
tion of Kingstown. 

1728 (date not given) — Jacob 'Vemoy, b. under the 
jurisdiction of Kingstown, and Annaatjen du Bois, b. in Ray- 
sester [Rochester, but not the present city of Rochester, N. Y.]. 

1728 (date not given) — Hendericus ter-Bosch, b. at the 
Vischkil [Fishkill], in Duytisch [Dutchess] County, and Ra- 
chel Freer, b. in the Pals [New Paltz]. Banns registered May 5. 

Oct. 4, 1728 — William Danielsz and Catrina de Bois. 

Nov. 13, 1728 — Johannes de Bois and Rebekka Tappen, 
both parties born and residing under the jurisdiction of Kings- 
town. 

Dec. 6, 1728 — Johannes Herdenberg Jr. and Maria de 
Bois. 

April 7, 1729 — Cornelis de Bois, b. in the Pals, and Anna- 
Margrieta Hoogteehng, b. under the jurisdiction of Kingstown 

April 26, 1730 — Josefat de Bois and Tjaatjen van Keu- 
ren, b. in Kingstown. 

July 18, 1731 — Gerrit du Bois, b. under the jurisdiction 
of Horly, and Margrietjen Elmendorff, b. under the jurisdic- 
tion of Kingstown. 

1732 (date not given) — Jonathan du Bois, b. in Kings- 
town and residing at the Viskil [Fishkill], and Ariaantjen Oster- 
hout, b. and residing in Brabant [a designation for a portion 
of the old town of Kingston]. Banns registered July 30. 

Aug. 5, 1732 — Ysaak du Bois and Neeltjen Roosa, both 
bom and residing in Horly, 

May 6, 1733 — Henderikus du Bois, b. in the Pals, and 
Jannetjen Hoogteeling, b. under the jurisdiction of Kingstown. 

Oct. 19, 1733 — Nathan du Bois and Susanna Cool, both 
parties bom and residing under the jurisdiction of Eangston. 

June 21, 1734 — Coenraad Elmendorff Jr., b. under the 
jurisdiction of Kingstown, and Zara du Bois, born under the 
jurisdiction of Horly. 



60 

July 14, 1734 — Josia Elting, b. in Kingston and residing 
in the Pals, and Helena dii Bois, b. and residing in the Pals- 
Dec. 11, 1736 — Johannes du Bois and Judikje Wynkoop, 
both parties bom and residing in Horly. 

Sept. 9, 1737 — Oornelis Nieiiwkerk and Neeltjendu Bois, 
l)oth parties born and residing in Horly. 

March 9, 1739 — Thomas Bosch, b. and residing under 
the jurisdiction of Mormel, and Lisabeth Merkel, b. at the 
Kerkeland and residing in Kingston. 

Oct. 31, 1740 — Andries Springsteen, b. at the Visch-Kil 
[Fishkill] and residing in Duysis [Dutchess] County, and 
Catrina Bosch, b. and residing in Mormel. 

1743 (date not given) — Henderikus Oosterhoud and Pie- 
ternelle Bosch, both residing in Brabant. Given a certificate 
Feb. 27. 

Aug. 10, 1744 — Henrich Brink, farmer, and Susanna du 
Bois, both residing in the county of Ulster. 

Sept. 27, 1745 — Samuel Dubois and Marietje Burhans, 
widow of William Legg. 

Oct. 24, 1745 — Louis Bevier Jr., b. in the Pals and re- 
siding in Mormel, and Hester Dubois, b. in the Pals and resid- 
ing in Rochester. 

1745 (date not given) — Jacobus Bosch Jr., born and 
residing in Mormel [Marbletown], and Annaatjen Merkel, b. 
at the Kerkeland [Churchland], and residing in Mormel. 
Banns registered Oct. 13. 

1745 (date not given) — Andrew Lefevre, b. in the Pals, 
and Rachel Dubois, b. in Schawegonk [Shawangunk], and both 
residing in the Pals. Banns registered Oct. 20. 

1745 (date not given) — Johannes Van der Merken and 
Susannah Bosch, both b. and residing in Mormel. Banns reg- 
istered Nov. 17. 

May 22, 1746 — Lodewyk Horenbeek and Maria Dubois, 
both parties bom and residing in Rochester. 

May 24, 1746 — Neheniia du Bois, b. and residing under 
the jurisdiction of Kingston, and Catharina Brink, b. and resid- 
ing in Horli [Horley]. 



61 

June 8, 1746 — Jacob de Bois, residing at the Viskil, and 
Antjen van Bommel, residing under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

May 15, 1748 — Hiskia du Bois Jr. and Rachel Nieuw- 
kerk, both residing under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

Sept. 27, 1749 — Salomon du Bois Jr., residing in the 
county of Albanie [Albany], and Margaret Sammans, residing 
in the county of Ulster. 

Nov. 30, 1751 — PetruB Maste and Sara Dubois, both born 
and residing in Kingston. 

May 28, 1752 — Isaac Dubois Jr., residing under the juris- 
diction of Albanie, and Lena Samman, residing in Schawegonk. 

Nov. 3, 1752 — John West and Tanneke Diibois, both re- 
siding in Ulster County. 

May 25, 1753 — Henricus Horenbeck and Maria Dubois, 
both bom and residing in Rochester. 

June 1, 1753 — Philippus Miiller, b. in Katskil [Catskill], 
and Susanna Dubois, b. and both residing under the jurisdic- 
tion of Kingston. 

Oct. 31, 1754 — Johannes Gerardusse Hardenberg, b. in 
Horli, and residing under the jurisdiction of Rochester, and 
Cornelia Dubois, b. and residing in Rochester. 

Dec. 20, 1754 — Charles de Wit and Blandina Diibois, 
both residing in Mormel. 

Sept. 26, 1755 — Jacob du Bois, b. in Horly and residing 
under the jurisdiction of Kingston, and Rebecca van Wagenen, 
b. and residing in Wagendal [Wagondale, in Ulster County]. 

June 18, 1757 — Gerret Deffenpoort, widower, and Maria 
Boa, spinster (residence, Mormel or Marbletown). 

March 22, 1757 — Philippus Dubois, b. and residing under 
the jurisdiction of the Pals, and Anna Hue, b. at the Wale Kil 
[Walkill] and residing under the jurisdiction of the Pals. 

Nov. 15, 1757 — Johannes Schoonmaker and Catharina 
du Bois, both parties born and residing at the Sagertje [Sau- 
gerties]. 

Dec. 17, 1757 — Andries de Wit and Rachel Du Bois, both 
parties bom and residing in Ulster County. 



62 

March 26, 1758 — Daniel Ter Bos, ship-captain, and Cor- 
nelia Rykman, both residing at the Vis Kil [Fiskill], Dutches 
[Dutchess] County. 

Nov. 26, 1759 — Abraham Elting and Dina Dubois, both 
born and residing under the jurisdiction of the Pals. 

April 14, 1760 — Matheus Dubois and Catharina Hoof, 
both born and residing under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

Aug. 16, 1760 — Samuel Leg, b. and residing in Braband, 
and Sara Diibois, b. vinder the jurisdiction of Kin gston and 
residing in Braband. 

Oct. 5, 1760 — Isaac Dubois, widower, and Jannetje Rosa, 
both residing under the jurisdiction of HorU. 

Feb. 14, 1761 — George Lassing and Lea Dubois, b. un- 
der the jurisdiction of Kingston, and both residing in Braband. 

Jan. 27, 1762 — Matheus Dubois, b. and residing under 
the jurisdiction of Kingston, and Trientje Dubois, b. and re- 
siding under the jurisdiction of the Pals. 

May 28, 1762 — Cornelis Wynkoop and Lea Dubois, both 
residing in Ulster County. 

Oct. 9, 1762 — Johannes Garvy and Marretje Du-Bois. 

Oct. 25, 1762 — Salomon Du Bois and Ariantje Du Bois. 

Oct. 25, 1762 — William Thompson jmd Tjatje Du Bois. 

Dec. 16, 1763 — Tobyas van Buuren and Sarah du Boys, 
both of Kingston. 

Nov. 24, 1764 — Abraham Heermanssen, of Dutches 
County, and Catharina du Bois, of Ulster County. 

Feb. 18, 1769 — Cornelius Dubois Jr., b. and residing in 
Hurley, and Geertje Van Vliet, b. in Kingston and residing 
in Hurley. 

April 15, 1769 — Josua Dubois and Catharena Schep- 
moes, both parties born and residing under the jurisdiction of 
Kingston. 

Oct. 18, 1770 — Jeremia Dubois and Catriena Masten, 
both parties born and residing under the jvirisdiction of Kings- 
toun. 



63 

May 4, 1771 — Jacob Duboies and Hendireca Diiboies, 
both born and residing in Horle, near Kingstoun. 

Dec. 17, 1753 — Johannia N. Dubois and Marya Ooster- 
hout, both born and residing ixuder the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

Dec. 22, 1775 — Petrus P. Crispel and Sara Dubois, "in 
Hurly." 

July 5, 1776 — Thomas Janson, b. and residing in Mar- 
mel [Marbletown], and Janeke Dubois, b. and residing in the 
same place. 

April 21, 1777 — Cornelius Swaert and Helena Duboys, 
both parties born and residing under the jurisdiction of 
Kingston. 

Dec. 25, 1779 — Petrus Duboys and Ariantje Noukirk, 
both born and residing under the jurisdiction of Horly. 

Oct. 10, 1781 — Samuel Duboys and Maria Roberson, 
both born and residing under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

April 20, 1783 — Josuah Duboys and Margrit Hasten, 
both born and residing in Kingston. 

Oct. 22, 1786 — Jacob Brink and Ehsabeth Duboys, both 
born and residing under the jurisdiction of Marmel. 

June 28, 1787 — Matheus Duboys and Margrit TefPen- 
bord, both born and residing under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

Dec. 3, 1789 — Abraham Meier and Annatje Duboys, both 
parties born and residing under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

Nov. 18, 1790 — Petrus Duboys and BaUie Post, both 
parties born and residing under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

May 16, 1793 — Jacobus Duboys, widower, and Catharina 
Byker, widow, both from under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

Jan. 25, 1795 — John C. Duboys and Maria Seilant, both 
residing under the jurisdiction of Hurly. 

Jan. 1, 1798 — John Dubois and Elisabet van Wagenen, 
both from under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

July 18, 1800 — Daniel Worthen and Marietje Duboys, 
both residing under the jurisdiction of Kingston. 

Aug. 28, 1800 — Isaak Bosch, b. under the jurisdiction of 
Marmel and residing in Schokan [Shokan], and Betsie Mc- 



64 

Keffie, b. at the Fisch Kill [Fishkill] and residing under the 
jurisdiction of Woodstok [Woodstock]. 

May 4, 1801 — Elias Willcox and Catharine Bosch, both 
residing under the jurisdiction of Manuel [Marbletown]. 

May 20, 1804 — Gerrit Van Wagenen and EHsabet Bosch, 
both residing under the jurisdiction of Marmel. 

April 23, 1809 — Andrew Duboys and Rachel Constabel, 
both residing in Kingston. 

Aug. 21, 1809 — Derick Dubois and Evelina Suyland, 
both of Hurley. 

When I began this list, it was my intent to inchide 
only the names Bos, Boss, Bosch, Ter Bos and Ter 
Bosch; but, you will observe, these names almost 
disappear, and we have the various forms of du Boy, 
Du Bois, Dubois, etc., and it would not be surprising 
if these were variations of the name we are seeking. 
The suspicion of this is strengthened by the " Dutchi- 
ness " of very many of the Christian names given in 
the list. I must confess, however, that, until it was 
suggested in one of your letters, I never entertained 
the remotest idea that there could be any connection 
between the names "Boss" and "Dubois." But 
when one reflects upon the indifference of people in 
regard to the spelling of proper names, — even their 
own, — a century or two ago, it can easily be seen 
how the transformation would be made. Added to 
this is the fact that in the early day, in this country, 
many of the records, especially in churches and simi- 
lar bodies, were kept by persons of slender learning, 
who would be very apt to make errors in transcribing 
names with which they were unfamiliar. In the book 



65 

from which the foregoing list was compiled, many of 
the Dutch names were recorded by German ministers, 
and it is to be feared that they made a sad mess of 
some of them. 

The Register of the Old Dutch Church contains a 
long list of baptisms — too long to be transcribed and 
printed here. It is much to be doubted if any con- 
necting link between these names and the objects of 
our researches will ever be found. 

The Narragansett Historical Register, a periodical 
publication, has devoted much space to local records, 
and I gather a considerable number of items from its 
pages. Among them are the following : 

Old Smithfield (Conn.) Records. 

May 25, 1813, Solomon B. Boss, son of Jabez and Sarah 
m. Catherine Knowles, dau. of Robert and Lucy Anna, all of 
South Kingstown. Quakers. 

Died, June 27, 1814, Lucy Anna, dau. of above. 

Sept. 8, 1839, James M. Boss m. Nancy Vickery. 

On the same date, William Phillips of South Coventry, 
Conn,, m. Emily Boss of Scituate. 

Richmond {R. I.) Town Records. 

Oct. 27, 1758, Joseph Boss m. Content Peterson. 

Feb. 14, 1782, Elder Charles Boss oflficiated at a marriage 
ceremony. His name occurs in a like connection on several 
occasions, in the records. 

Sept. 14, 1760, Peregrine Fry Tripp of Exeter m. Martha 
Boss, dau. of Jeremiah. 

April 16, 1778, Charles Boss m. Mary "Webster. 

Feb. 14, 1839, Abner N. Woodmansee of Hopkinton m. 
Eliza Boss of Richmond. 



66 

Nov. 25, 1778, Benjamin Barber m. Susannah, dau. of 
Peter Boss, both of Kichmond. 

Feb. 9, 1775, Charles Boss m. Mary Webster, both of 
Bichmond. 

Nov. 26, 1812, David Gardiner m. Martha Boss, widow of 
Jonathan. 

Sotith Kingstown, R. I. 

Jan. 30, 1845, Abiel Sherman m. Susannah Boss. 

Feb. 14, 1763, Peter Boss m. Susannah Stanton of Rich- 
mond. 

Aug. 8, 1745, Richard Boss of Oharlestown m. Mary Bab- 
oock of South Kingstown. 

April 14, 1742, George Gardiner m. Sarah Boss. 

In a list of freemen in the Towne of South Kingstowne 
Dec. 21, 1696, is Petter Boss. 

In a similar list in South Kingstown, 1742, is Peter Boss. 

From a record of the Kichmond Family I obtain 
the following : 

Edward Richmond, b. 1780, in Exeter, R. I.; m, Phebe 
Boss of Griswold, Conn. Had four blind children. Lived in 
Exeter. 

Almira Richmond, b. in Hopkinton, R. I., Aug. 20, 1821; 
d. Nov. 13, 1857; m., in 1838, Ezekiel J. Boss. 

At least one of the family seems to have received 
political honors, for I find that at the election held in 
August, 1816, John L. Boss Jr., one of the Federalist 
candidates for Congress, was elected in Ehode Island. 

Of the members of the Boss family whose names 
I have gathered from the local records, it seems to 
me that most of them are likely to have been descend- 
ants of the first Edward Boss, tho the names do not 
appear in the list sent by Mr. Robert P. Boss. 



67 

The Revolutionary records ought to afford much 
information, if one only knew where to look and what 
to look for. Such an investigation, however, would 
involve an expenditure of more time and means than 
are at my disposal. 

In a list of Massachusetts soldiers and sailors in 
the Revolution I find the following : 

Ebenezer Boss, boy, brigantine Tyrannicide, commanded 
by Capt. John Cathcart; engaged May 12; discharged June 
23 [year not given; probably 1779]. 

Jabez Boss, ship General Mifflin, commanded by Capt. 
George W. Babcock; list dated Sept. 9, 1780; age, 20 years; 
complexion light; residence, Massachiisetts. 

James Boss, gunner, ship General Mifflin, commr\nded by 
Capt. George W. Babcock; Hst dated Sept. 9, 1780; age, 19 
years; complexion, light; residence, Massachusetts. 

In a list of Revolutionary pensioners publisht by 
the United States Government in 1835, I find the fol- 
lowing: 

Washington County^ R. I. 

Jabez Boss, private; Rhode Island continental line; placed 
on pension-roll Oct. 13, 1820; cormnencement of pension, Aug. 
16, 1820; age, 64. "Dropped; did not serve nine months in 
continental line." 

Providence County, R. I. 

Benjamin Boss, sergeant, Rhode Island continental line; 
placed on pension roll Sept. 23, 1818; commencement of pen- 
sion, Aug. 10, 1818. •' Suspended under act May 1, 1820." 

Just as I am closing this letter, I receive the fol- 
lowing from Dr. C. W. Larison, of Ringos, N. J. : 



68 

In that leaflet entitled " The Boss Family " I take some 
interest — the more so because, at one time, I edited a little 
magazine devoted to the history of this locality, in which in 
early times lived sturdy men whose family name was Boss. As 
early as 1717 one Henry Boss had a guardian by name Eace- 
In November, 1721, Honas Boss bought of Nathan Allen a 
farm less than a mile from the oflBce in which I am writing this 
letter, which farm passed from father to son until 1853. This 
said Honas Boss had a son Peter, who had a son WilUam» 
who had a son Peter, who died, very old, in 1853. Tradition 
informs me that brothers of Peter went to York State [New 
York], at a time at which from this locality went many to set- 
tle in Central and Western New York. 

William Boss, son of Peter, married Mary Larison, sister 
to my grandfather Larison, from which union issued a numer- 
ous progeny. 

Honas Boss came into this neighborhood with that great 
influx of religious zealots who, intending to land at New York, 
by some mishap were driven out of their way and found them- 
selves in the mouth of the Delaware, up which they sailed to 
Philadelphia; thence overland they started thru virgin forests 
to reach their comrades in New York. But, lured by the good- 
ness of the soil as proven by the forest thru which they passed, 
they purchased and settled upon estates extending from the 
Delaware River to the Hudson. So I have little hope that 
you will estabhsh a line of descent from this family. However, 
in case you do, come over to visit me and I will show you the 
house still standing — constructed of huge hewn timbers — 
which was built by the primogenitor, Honas Boss, and occu- 
pied by himself and his descendants imtil 1853. In it I have 
visited many a patient. Tho good yet, it is the oldest house 
in Central New Jersey, so far as I know. 

The Bosses, as far back as I can learn of them, were large 
of stature, intelhgent, enterprising and accommodating, and 
of that suaveness of maimer which wins the respect of all good 



69 

citizens. The one with whom I was best acquainted was a 
well-proportioned, dignified man, six feet six inches tall, and 
as good as he was long. He was a tailor by trade; but, dur- 
ing the long evenings of winter and the afternoons of Sunday 
in summer, he taught classes the art of singing. At one time 
he was a member of the Legislature of New Jersey, and often 
he held other important positions. Tho he generally carried 
his points, he intentionally oflFended no one. 

Today, in this country, those of the stock are few. 

Very respectfully, C. W. Laeison. 

This letter, now pretty lengthy, is, as you see, 
mainly a collection of memoranda ; but, by having 
these bits of "testimony" brought together in one 
book, we may, perhaps, make out a clear case, even 
if much of the evidence is but circumstantial. 

Very truly yours, Henry R. Boss. 



William Graham Boss to Henry R. Boss. 

16 Union Street, Edinburgh, 
December Slst, 1899. 
Mr. Henry R. Boss, Chicago. 

Dear Sir : Truly your letter of 28th October con- 
tains a large number of facts, and you say well that 
Mr. R. P. Boss has fulfilled his promise handsomely 
in his valuable contribution to the record of the name. 
I don't know if the history of the Quaker sect would 



70 

throw any light on the nationality of the first Edward 
Boss mentioned, but there appears to me some doubt 
as to where he was actually born ; it would be inter- 
esting if proof was forthcoming of his having been a 
German or a Hollander. Perhaps this statement may 
have been of later origin than his time. 

In the large number of facts which you have ob- 
tained from sources examined, doubtless most of them 
are the record of Dutch bearers of the name Bosch, 
and you rightly say that they suggest how easily the 
name might be altered to suit the environment. In 
point of time the spelling Boss appears to be earlier 
than the Dutch, Bosch or Bos, with you, and it may 
argue a different source ; I have seen the name Boys 
mentioned in one of the Eastern States as early as 
1616 or thereabout, but I can not lay my hands on 
the reference at the time of writing. 

On looking over my notes having reference to in- 
fluences bearing on the name, I find I have omitted 
an important one, and I send it herewith : 

Boece — The medieval form for Boethius, the name of an 
ancient Roman philosopher, author of "The Consolation of 
Philosophy," a great and familiar classic during the Middle 
Ages and early Renaissance. Competent authorities state that 
a large number of versions of this work appeared during those 
periods. The following selections may serve to show how far- 
reaching its influence was : 

France: "Boece," a Provengal poem of the eleventh cen- 
tury. 

England: King Alfred's translation of the " Consolation," 
in the ninth century. "Boece," by Geoffrey Chaucer, second 
half of the fourteenth century. 



71 

Scotland : " Boece de Consolation," a copy in the library 
of Mary Queen of Scots, in the second half of the sixteenth 
century. 

Hector Boies, the author, in his Latin works used 
the name of Boethius, apparently from the similarity 
of his own name to the then current medieval name 
for this ancient writer, and perhaps also from sympa- 
thetic influence of his writings. 

Bellenden, the translator of Hector Boies' Chroni- 
cles, naturally used the accepted form "Boece" in 
his work, as it was ready to hand and gave the under- 
stood pronunciation of the name in Scotland ; it also 
had the merit of an established reputation. This is 
the only instance of the name written in this way ; it 
is simply a literary version, which has continued in 
use to the present time ; and doubtless after appear- 
ing in this cormection it would exercise some influence 
on later forms of the name in Scotland, as will be 
more apparent when we come to consider the name 
as written after the fifteenth century. 

In considering the variations in the name as writ- 
ten in documents from the twelfth century onward, 
the great variety is at once apparent ; a feature which 
is by no means confined to this name alone. All the 
Norman names have been treated in the same way, 
more or less. To begin with the twelfth century, when 
it first appears in contemporary documents in Scot- 
land, and confirming to some extent the traditional 
account of the arrival of the name as given at pages 
27 and 28 : 



72 

We learn from Bain's Calendar of Documents re- 
lating to Scotland, Vol. II, page 422, No. 9, which is 
an abstract of a roll of early grants by Scottish kings, 
nobles and others to the Hospital of St. Peter of York, 
that a charter was granted by Eobert de Brus, second 
of the name, who was Lord of Annandale 1141-1171. 
He received this extensive lordship from his father, 
the Lord of Skelton, in Yorkshire, who had a gift of 
it from his friend. King David the First, about 1125, 
which was conj&rmed to his son by King WiUiam the 
Lion in 1166, to be held of him " by the service of ten 
knights." The deed runs in abstract : 

Robert de Bnis to all his men Franks and Angles of the 
whole vale of Anant. Grants to the brethren of St. Peter of 
York for his father's and his own souls, and those of his mother 
wife and children, a house in Lochmaben with its "man- 
sura" and land. Witnesses: Lady Eufemia, Peter de Turp, 
Ivo de Crosseby, Humf rey del Boys, Eobert Albalestor, Robert 
Malet, William the chaplain, Roger. 

As usual at that time, the document is undated, 
but it may be sometime between 1168 and 1171, as 
the grantor died in this latter year. 

It is instructive to note the order in which the wit- 
nesses' names occur, as they would be arranged partly 
according to precedence : the Lady Eufemia was the 
wife of the grantor, who is followed by three repre- 
sentatives of the Norman-French settlers or their de- 
scendants — the Franks of the document, because they 
spoke the French of Normandy; the next two wit- 
nesses represent the Anglo-Saxon element in the dis- 




GEORGE R. BOSS, 

Of Milton, Wisconsin. 



73 

trict, and the native section is possibly represented 
by Eoger. Also a point worthy of note is the simple 
prefix "de" given to the first two of the Normans, 
tending to confirm the statement made by Bardsley, 
in his *' English Surnames," that those who are de- 
scribed as *' del " or " du " were in all probability later 
immigrants. 

And in this connection it is of interest to point to 
the quarter in Normandy where the Bruce family held 
their fief, as it may also be in the district from whence 
the Bois family came. What conduces to favour this 
supposition is the fact of other Norman families who 
were settled in Annandale or its neighborhood hav- 
ing come from the Cotentin. M. de Gerville, in his 
Recherches, identifies the remains of Le Chateau 
d'Adam, at Brix in the Cotentin, between Cherbourg 
and Valognes, as the site of their ancient home in 
Normandy. 

Among the companions of the Conqueror in 1066 
was the Sire de Bruis, who obtained the manor of 
Skelton in Yorkshire, and other extensive properties. 
In the Roll of Battle Abbey compiled after the battle 
of Hastings, and giving a list of the chief Normans 
who fought there, we find the Sire de Bois. It is not 
known when this roU was actually drawn up, but it is 
supposed to have been some time after the event, and 
it is not looked on as altogether trustworthy, it being 
supposed that additions were made to it in order to 
include the names of the chief adventurers who came 
over after the conquest and acquired a position in the 



74 




country, or of those who afterward rose to positions 
of note. 

It was about the time of this charter, or, generally 
speaking, in the second half of the twelfth century, 
that armorial bearings began to be 
used as hereditary cognizances ; and 
we find the Bruces of Skelton bearing 
"Argent a lion rampant azure." And 
the second Kobert de Bruis of Annan- 
dale — 1141-1171 — or his son, Rob- 
ert, the third in succession, — 1171*- 
1191, — used a seal bearing per fess, 
first, a lion passant ; second, a saltire and chief. We 
have here an early example of a compounded coat of 
arms — the Bruce lion placed passant in the position 
of honour on the shield, and the saltire, or St. An- 
drew's cross showing the crusader ; 
the bearings may be described 
briefly as Annandale-Bruce,and the 
blazon may run first argent a lion 
passant azure; second, argent (or 
perhaps Or) a saltire and chief 
gules. The Bruce family afterward 
laid aside the lion and bore the 
simple saltire and chief. 

This is the earliest example of 
the saltire and chief as armorial bearings in Annan- 
dale, and the saltire or St. Andrew's cross is probably 
derived from service in the Crusades, which were en- 
gaged in at this time ; the third Crusade — 1188-1191 — 




76 

is believed to mark the period when heraldic ensigns 
became hereditary. And we learn that in 1190 a 
goodly company of knights and esquires from Annan- 
dale and the neighbourhood accompanied King Eich- 
ard the First to the Holy Land ; and it was in this 
crusade that the crusaders had the cross on the breast 
of their surcoat distinguished by different colours : the 
French wore red, the English white and the followers 
of the count of Flanders green. 

Geoffrey de Vinsauf, who accompanied King Rich- 
ard on this crusade, mentions in his " Itinerary" three 
bearers of the name who distinguished themselves on 
various occasions. The first one noted is an archer 
named *' William du Bois, a Norman, and a most skil- 
ful archer," who rendered excellent service in Cyprus 
in 1191 ; then in the same year, at Ramula, in the Holy 
Land, in the company of the Earl of Leicester, who 
defeated the Turks, among others honourable mention 
is made of Arnald du Bois, who may be the same 
person spoken of below, and in this case it is quite 
possible the lion on the canton may be an honourable 
augmentation of his arms ; this is one of the early 
members of the English branch of the name, and, no 
doubt, related to the Scottish branch of the time. 
Then, in the following year, when King Eichard un- 
dertook the relief of Joppa, which was besieged by 
Saladin, the chronicler says : " The word was forth- 
with given, the galleys were pushed to land ; the king 
dashed forward into the waves with his thighs unpro- 
tected by armour, and up to his middle in the water ; 



76 



he soon gained firm footing on the dry strand ; behind 
him followed Geoffrey du Bois and Peter de Pratelles, 
and in the rear come all the others rushing through 
the waves." They are led to victory by the lion-heart- 
ed king, and reheve the town. 

From the same writer we learn that the Crusad- 
ers had various heraldic ensigns, as in the army al 
Assur: "There you might have seen their most ap- 
propriate distinctions, standards and ensigns of vari- 
ous forms ; " and again, in the march to Jerusalem, 
" shields emblazoned with lions or flying dragons in 
gold," and " the royal standard of the lion." 

Although the document quoted contains the ear- 
liest instance of the name " Bois " being found in 
Scotland so closely associated with the great family 
of Bruce, yet, judging from heraldic evidence, which 
is of some importance, there is reason to suppose they 
were old allies. We find at the beginning of the fol- 
lowing century an Brnald de Bois bearing " two bars 
and on a canton a lion passant ; " and a Walter Bois 
bearing on his seal " a lion rampant ; " p 
also another of the name bearing 
" Gules a lion rampant double queued 
argent." The bearing 
of the lion was a fa- 
vourite symbol in ear- 
ly heraldry, and these 
tinctures, white and red, and white 
and blue, were borne by various mem- 
bers of the Bruce family in common 





77 



with others ; but there was always some difference in 
the arrangement, as these few examples show. The 
point I wish to emphasize is that the earliest Bruce 
bearings were lions varied between these tinctures, 
and the presence of the same animal and tinctures in 
early Bois arms, and the contemporary feudal con- 
nection between the two Norman houses. 

Then in Scotland we have toward the end of the 
thirteenth century an example in the seal of the 
widow of Sir Andrew de Bois, Lord of 
Kedcastle in the north, which seal 
bears two lions rampant combatant, 
and four small shields bearing this 
lady's paternal arms, a " bend." The 
accompanying outline shows the her- 
aldic portion of the seal the full size 
of the original, which is surrounded 
with the legend, " Sigillum secreti 
Elizabeth Bysete." Also another ex- 
ample in the impression of a seal appended to a deed 
in 1292; the seal is circular ia form, bearing a *'lion 
rampant" on a shield suspended by a strap from 
what appears to be an oak tree, and between two 
smaller trees of the same species, forming a bosky 
background to the owner's escutcheon ; the whole en- 
closed within the legend, "parmi ceu haut bois con- 
DURAY MA MiE," which appears to be a playful allusion 
to his name, and also possibly referring to his posi- 
tion in the country geographically. I hope to refer 
to this seal again. 




78 

Possibly the family associations may go back to 
the time when they were Vikinger, previous to the con- 
quest, in the early part of the tenth century, of that 
province of France which was called Normandy after 
them. But we may be able to say something about 
this when we come to consider their staunch adher- 
ence to the Bruce family during the time of their eon- 
test for the Scottish crown and national independence. 

Meanwhile let us examine the various forms of 
the name as found in documents from the twelfth 
century onward. The lists are instructive as showing 
the various stages of evolution and transformation 
from the simple forms of the Norman-French to the 
more or less corrupted nomenclature of a changed en- 
vironment in later times. Each variant in its respect- 
ive group is given in chronological sequence as far as 
possible, and as a matter of course they overlap from 
one century into the next. 

The twelfth century — del Boys, del Bois, de Bois, (Lat- 
inized) de Bosco, de Boscho. 

The thirteenth century — del Bois, de Bois, de Boys, 
Boys, du Boys, (Latin) de Bosco, de Boscho. 

The fourteenth century — de Bois, de Boys, (Latin) de 
Bosco. 

The fifteenth century, first half — Boys, Bois, de Boyis, 
de Boys. Second half — Boyis, Boyes, Bost, Boist, Bust, 
Boiste, Buste, Bowse, Boyce, Bos, Bois, Bowsie, Bousie, (Lat- 
in) Boecii. 

The sixteenth century — Boies, Boyis, Boys, Boise, Boyes, 
Bowse, Boiss, Bowsy, Boyise, Boyse, Boas, Boess, Boice, Boece, 
Boist, Boyiss, Boeis, Buse, Buyss, Bowsy, Bowosye, Bowsie, 
Bousie, Buist, Busie. Latin — Boethius, Boetius, Boeciua, 



79 

Boiciiis, Boethii, Boetii, Boecii, Boethio, Boetio, Boecio, Boe- 
thinm, Boetium. 

The seventeenth century, or later, and uncertain — Boaze, 
Boes. Boss, Boaz, Bowes, Boase, Boost, Buist, Boos, Bows, 
Bowis, Boosie, Boyes, Boys. 

The forms actually in use at the present time, in Scot- 
land — Boyes, Boes, Boaze, Boaz, Bowes, Boss, Bowsie, Bousie, 
Boosie, Buist, Bost, Boas, Boase, Boyce, Boies. 

Boy — 1438. This is a contraction for Boyis, sometimes 
written with dots above the yi. 

Bousa, Bovsa — Date 1556, about the midile of the six- 
tefenth century, 

From the foregoing classification it will be seen 
that the prefix " del " occurs only in the twelfth and 
early in the thirteenth centuries, and they are found 
designating two bearers of the name. During the 
twelfth century, as might be expected, we find the 
purest orthography, and the bearers compose a small 
band of immigrants, but it was not long before they 
spread over the country, as we shall see further on. 

We now come to the thirteenth century, in which 
there is little or no alteration in the spelling. The 
only example not having a prefix occurs in 1250, which 
may be an omission of the clerk, and is found at the 
town of Dumfries, where a Eobert Boys serves as a 
juror, and likely he would be a " man of guid " in the 
town, a merchant. This century also furnishes the 
only instance of the prefix " du," which is a contrac- 
tion for " del " or " de la ; " and in this case we may 
also be indebted to the writer of the document for its 
presence. The Latin forms during this century are 
the same as in the previous one. 



80 

In the following century the name is written with 
the prefix " de " only ; this is considered the most an- 
cient way, and it is said there was a fashion about this 
time for those of Norman-French descent to lay aside 
" del" and " du " and use " de," in order to make their 
descent appear as ancient as possible. 

In the early part of the fifteenth century there 
is a dropping of the prefix, but the original form is 
found, with slight variations, till about the middle of 
the century, when a change takes place — the sign of 
foreign descent being practically confined to the first 
half of the century. During the second half they 
seem to have made up their minds to transform the 
name as much as possible ; a number of causes prob- 
ably operated to bring this about, such as decay of 
medieval learning, the dawn of the Renaissance, and 
increase of population. Whatever the cause, there 
can be no doubt about the great change which has 
come over the name. All the old names were more 
or less affected in this way, and the one under consid- 
eration is just a good example of the treatment which 
the Norman-French names received when the bearers 
had become thoroughly incorporated into the nation. 
About the beginning of the last quarter of the century 
we first encounter such forms as Bowse, Bost, Bos ; 
and with reference to this last one, it is probably a 
contraction for a longer form, occurring only twice, 
as far as I have seen — once in 1494, again in 1498, 
and applied to a John Bos in Fifeshire and to an 
Alexander Bos in Aberdeenshire. The only Latin 



81 

version of this time is fonnd in 1492-94, and is of in- 
terest, being record of a payment to Mr. Hector Boies, 
while at the University of Paris, where he was a stu- 
dent, and teacher of philosophy in Montaigu College ; 
showing how early he came under the influence of the 
'ancient Eoman philosopher, Boethius — an influence 
which affected his whole life-work. 

In the sixteenth century we have a further instal- 
ment of variants, about half of them hardly recognis- 
able as the successors of the early times : the forms 
Boas, Boice, etc. are probably owing to the influence 
of Mr. Hector Boies and his writings in the early part 
of the century. A special feature in the formation of 
the name, which had its beginning in the latter part 
of the previous century, is the lengthening by adding 
a syllable, such as in Boyes, Bowsie, etc., coming to 
a climax in the trisyllabic Bowosye, which is found in 
the Eecords of the Convention of Eoyal Burghs held 
at Edinburgh in 1555 ; possibly the clerk may have 
been puzzled over the name of the representative — 
William Bowsy — from the Eoyal Burgh of Crail, in 
the East Neuk of Fife. Another feature is the total 
absence of any prefix, the Eenaissance seemingly 
having eclipsed medieval usage even in surnames. 

About the middle of this century a change comes 
over the available records, and the name appears 
quite merged in the general population ; a number of 
them maintain a responsible position in the country, 
but there is none holding high estate. The name be- 
gan to decline in worldly position about the middle of 



82 

the fifteenth century ; perhaps the loss of the ancient 
connection with the Bruce family may have influenced 
their status adversely. The Dryfsdale house, which 
may be considered the parent house in Scotland, is 
said to have ended in an heir female about 1450 ; and 
the Panbride family appear to have held their estate 
for about a century later. 

Passing to the Latin versions of this century, 
they are found to be, without exception, either ap- 
plied to Mr. Hector, or directly traceable to his influ- 
ence among men of letters of that time ; most of the 
examples are found in the Records of Aberdeen as 
published by the Spalding Club. 

We will now look at the seventeenth century and 
later examples, most of which are such as are not 
found previously. We have reached the period when 
surnames may be said to have become fixed into their 
present forms ; of course, as the lists show, there are 
a few versions which became hereditary before this 
time ; a great factor in this respect would be the more 
general diffusion of education. But even for all the 
endeavours to educate there are still found a good 
variety in the written names, even when applied to 
the same person, as exemplified when we meet with a 
bearer of the name who lived in the latter part of this 
century and the early part of the eighteenth, having 
his name variously written Boes, Boos, Bows, Bowis ; 
the first form being the correct one as written by the 
bearer, James Boes, who was a covenanting clergy- 
man. 



83 

Another matter for consideration is the locale of 
the name in Scotland. Let us take "Boyes," first, 
as its natural habitat, so to speak, is Dumfriesshire, 
in the Lochmaben district of Annandale and neigh- 
bourhood, where the first Norman French bearing the 
name are found. This form appears to have been 
assumed about the latter part of the fifteenth century, 
is peculiar to the district, is the only one found 
there, and may be accounted for by the unchanging 
nature of the population, being a farming and pasto- 
ral country; the people are practically the same 
race as they were five centuries ago. In the eastern 
counties of Forfar and Fife, on the other hand, the 
greatest variety of forms are found in actual use and 
in written documents, and it may be taken that all 
the present varieties, excepting Boyes and Boss, had 
their origin in these two counties ; the forms Boas, 
Boes, Boaz, etc. are of Forfarshire, and Bowes, Buist, 
Boosie, etc. are of Fifeshire. One influence in this 
county which appears to have given rise to this last 
form and its varieties, Bowsie, etc., is the presence 
in place-names and in ordinary speech of the Scotch 
word "bow," meaning cattle or farm stock, from 
which we have the term "Bowhouse," cattle-house, 
contracted into " Bows," and the plural form "Buss- 
es," pronounced "boose," or in common speech the 
cattle are "the boos." In the course of my enquiries 
I find a farmer whose farm is called "Bowhouse," 
known as "Boosie" colloquially, although his sur- 
name is quite different. The common practice is to 



84 



speak of farmers and proprietors by the names of 
their places of abode : thus we find John EoUand of 
Burnside is colloquially "Burnside;" on the other 
hand, the farmer in documents would be described as 
George Smith in Bowhouse. 

This great variety in these eastern counties is 
very likely partly owing to the fact of their being in 
the center of trade and commerce during the fifteenth 
and two following centuries, and in the midst of a 
mixed and increasing population having intercourse 
with the continental ports of France, Holland, etc. 

As showing how the name spread through the 
country after gaining a footing, we may run over the 
chief families : 

Humfrey del Bois of Dryfsdale, Dumfriesshire, in the 
southwest, about 1170. [Bain's Calendar, Vol. EE, etc.] 

Thomas de Bois of Ogleface, Linlithgowshire, in the cen- 
tral lowlands, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. [1296. 
Ragman RoU, etc.] 

Sir Andrew de Bois, of Redcastle, Rossshire, in the north, 
about 1259-91. [Bain's Calendar, Vol. II: Family of Kil- 
ravock.] 

Alexander de Bois of Castle Urquhart, on Loch Ness, in 
the north, about the end of the thirteenth and beginning of 
the fourteenth century. [Hector Boies' History, folio 308.] 

(The latter two are beyond the Highland line, and were 
advanced outposts of the Norman influence in Scotland, where 
we read of castles being built by King William the Lion 
toward the end of the twelfth century. There was so much 
land forming a barony set aside for the King's representative, 
the governor of the castles, and the post may have been 
hereditary. Redcastle is inhabited at present, and is said to 
be the oldest inhabited castle in Scotland. ) 



85 

Patrick fiz Johan de Boys, of Lanarkshire, in the western 
lowlands, 1296. [Kagman EolL] 

Eichard de Bosco, of Jedburgh, in the south, 1305. 
[Bain's Calendar, Vol. II.] 

Hugh Boies of Panbride, Forfarshire, in the eastern low- 
lands, about 1350. [Hector Boies' History, folio 335.] 

Alexander Boys, scutifer (esquire), and burgess of Dun- 
fermline, May, 1438, Fifeshire. [Registrum de Dunfermlyn, 
410.] 

Alexander Bos, of Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire, 1498. [Ex- 
chequer Eolls, Vol. XI.] 

John de Boyse, the Laird of Cardney, Forfarshire, about 
1550. [Eegister of Cupar Abbey, Vol. 11.] 

CHRISTIAN NAMES. 

We will now give a little attention to the christian 
names during the same centuries ; and, as before, it 
will be understood that the names overlap the divi- 
sions, also in a number of cases, after the twelfth cen- 
tury, there are more than one contemporary bearing 
the same name. Beginning with the twelfth century, 
in which they make their first appearance in Scot- 
land, we naturally expect to find them few in'number, 
even although there are not more than six on record. 
I am inclined to think there were more than one bearer 
of the name who arrived in Scotland during this cen- 
tury, because we have one named as a witness of the 
Bruce charter before 1171, and we have the return of 
King William from captivity in 1165, accompanied 
by a number of Normans, among whom the name is 
found as given at pages 27 and 28. The discrepancy 
may be an error of the chronicler, but there is nothing 



86 

against the probability of more than one arrival at 
different times. And in connection with this King's 
return we note that he was a prisoner at Valognes in 
the Cotentin, and at Falise in Normandy, and that 
the final agreement for his release was consummated 
at York, — in which district the Bruce family were set- 
tled, — from whence he departed to Scotland accom- 
panied by the Normans. Shortly after his return we 
find a William de Bois witnessing documents as one 
of the King's clerks ; he was afterward Bishop of Dun- 
blane and Lord Chancellor of the kingdom from 1211 
to 1226. In what relation the six bearers of the 
name stood to each other I have no means of know- 
ing ; but they occupied honourable positions, as they 
are found witnessing important documents along with 
other Normans of the court. 

The distinction of first using surnames belongs 
to the Norman-French, and it is generally believed 
that most of them were taken from their places of 
abode ; the practice came into vogue about the close 
of the tenth century, or early in the eleventh. Thus 
Humfrey del Bois is simply Humfrey of the Wood, or 
Forest, and it has been suggested that they were for- 
esters, having charge thereof for a superior, and hold- 
ing part in virtue of their office ; but whatever may be 
the correct explanation of their position in relation to 
the wood or forest, it appears to have settled into a 
hereditary surname about the time of the Conquest in 
1066. Thus it is one of the oldest surnames on record, 
and it is not surprising to find it undergoing so many 



87 

changes and settling into so many varied forms as 
are now found. 

When the Normans arrived in Scotland they car- 
ried with them their hereditary surnames, and many 
of their christian names were new there also ; previ- 
ous to their coming the names were largely Celtic, or 
single personal designations, of which we have an ex- 
ample in the document quoted at page 72, where the 
last witness is simply styled " Roger," which afterward 
became a native surname as Rogerson or Rogers. 

From a careful examination of the printed rec- 
ords the following are all the christian names found 
in use in the Bois family : 

Twelfth century — Humfrey, William, Thomas, Hugh, 
Eichard, Walter. 

Thirteenth century — Golfried or Geoffrey, William, Eob- 
ert, Balf, Humfrey, Walter, Andrew, John, Hugh, Alexander, 
Gilbert, Thomas, Patrick, Margaret, Kadulph. 

Fourteenth century — Mary, Janet, Elizabeth, Richard> 
Alexander, Thomas, Andrew, Walter, Humfrey, Hugh, Will- 
iam, John. 

Fifteenth century — Henry, John, James, William, Alex- 
ander, David, Marion, Jane, Margaret, Hector, Arthur. 

Sixteenth century — Alexander, Walter, Patrick, James, 
George, Isabella, David, John, Elizabeth, Matthew, William. 

Seventeenth century — Alexander, Thomas, John, Bar- 
bara, Jean, etc. 

Perhaps it is not necessary to carry the list fur- 
ther, as the names were spread throughout the coun- 
try long before this, and they are just the same names 
as are found to the present time. 



88 

As introductory to our examination of the lists 
given above, we will take a glance at the origin and 
sources of the early christian names — a subject of 
much interest, carrying us back into the mists of Nor- 
thern antiquity and the mythology of our ancestors 
Out of the six names found in the twelfth century, 
five of them are of Teutonic origin, namely : 

Humfrey, support of peace; or, as quaint old Camden 
says, " House-peace, a lovely and happy name, if it could turn 
home-wars between man and wife into peace." A great favour- 
ite with the early Normans and borne by many a noble knight 
before and after the Conquest. Miss Tonge, to whose work I 
am indebted for many of these notes, says that from being a 
noble and knightly name it came to be a peasant's appellation; 
and, as shown by our lists, it fell out of the vocabulary of 
names in the course of a few generations, and is but rarely 
met with now. 

William, helmet of resolution. From the Teutonic myth- 
ological deity Wili, the Will, and the German Wil-helm, cover- 
ing the head with the helmit of resolution. According to our 
old author, this name has been very common in England since 
the Conquest, and he gives an instance of a festival being held 
by King Henry the Second in 1173, when it was commanded 
that none but those of the name of William should dine in the 
Great Chamber, when one hundred and twenty -two of the 
name, all knights, sat down. 

Hugh, mind, or thought, supposed to be from " hu," the 
Scandinavian word for thought. Huginn, one of the two ravens 
which sat on the shoulders of Odin and revealed to him all 
that passed in the world; the other Munninn, memory; and 
when Thor made his famous visit to Utgard it was Hugi alone 
who was able to outstrip him in the race — like a flash of 
thought. 



89 

Kieliard, or Ricbardet, the first syllable from the same 
source as ragan, he who executes judgment, stern king, or 
according to Camden, powerful and rich disposition, and sig- 
nified powerful in the army ; one of the Paladins. There were 
three Dukes of Normandy who bore the name, and any n\im- 
ber among the Normans; it gave name also to three kings of 
England, and has been a common one in the country ever 
since. 

Walter, general of an army, from Waidheri, powerful 
warrior, a very old name in the North and borne from thence 
to Normandy, which furnished twenty -eight of the name to 
Domesday Survey of England after the Conquest. 

Galfridus, Geoffrey, Godfrey, joyful peace, or good peace, 
believed to be from Guth, one of the Northern deities, and 
thought to have been largely used by the Normans of the time, 
from Gottfried of Lorraine, the famous crusader. 

Radulfus, Ralf, house wolf, from the Gothic " razn," a 
house, or a shield from the protection given. The name is 
found in St. Rudulphus, bishop of Bourges in 888 ; and thirty- 
eight of the name are given in Domesday Book, and many 
bearers are found among the crusaders, which were drawn from 
the western chivalry. 

Robert, bright fame, or famous in coimcil, originally 
Hruadperaht, a bishop who founded the first Christian church 
at Wurms about 700; from the high estimation in which he 
was held, his name spread through Germany and into France, 
where it assumed the form Robert, and gave name to Rolf 
Gauge, the first Duke of Normandy, when he received Chris- 
tian baptism; where it spread among liis Norse followers and 
was thence carried on by their descendants, who first brought 
it to Scotland in the early part of the twelfth century. 

Gilbert, bright pledge, from Giselhar, the pledged war- 
rior, or, as Camden says, in the quaint way of Queen Eliza- 
beth's time: " I judge it to signifie Bright or brave pledge, for 
in old Saxon ' gisle ' signifieth a pledge. So it is a well fitting 
name for children, which are the only sweet pawns of love be- 
tween man and wife." 



90 

These being most of the early distinctive appella- 
tions, if not actually descriptive names at the time, 
perhaps there may have been a lingering tradition of 
their original significations. It will not be necessary 
to extend the list further, as it sufficeth to indicate 
the sources from whence the early settlers derived their 
names. 

In our list of the thirteenth century containing 
fourteen names, no fewer than eight of them are also 
Teutonic, while there are three of Greek derivation — 
Alexander, Andrew and Margaret ; these are found at 
an early period in Scotland, and are believed to be 
due to the ancient connection with the church, before 
the separation into the Latin and Greek divisions in 
the eighth century. The Celtic or Scotch church is 
said to have adhered to the Greek party, and St. An- 
drew's being the patron saint of Scotland has caused 
his name to be widely spread throughout the country. 
The name Thomas, occurring at the end of the previ- 
ous century and also during this one, is a saint name, 
probably from St. Thomas of Canterbury, who was a 
great friend of King William the Lion, who dedicated 
the Abbey of Arbroath to the honour of God and of 
St. Thomas, in the year 1178 ; his memory and his 
tragic death exercised a great influence in our island 
for many generations afterward, and no doubt many a 
Thomas would be named after liim. 

With the advent of the fouiieenth century there 
is a falhng off in the ancient mythological and other 
Teutonic names, and an increase of saint names, 



91 

tending to show the firm hold which the Eoman church 
had obtained : out of the twelve names the number of 
Teutonic ones is reduced to five, and they are exactly 
the same names as in the eleventh century, showing 
no Uttle tenacity in the race from which they sprang, 
and having its counterpart in later and recent times, 
in the repetition of certain hereditary names ; while 
we have the first example of the saint names, Mary, 
which afterward acquired exaggerated use ; Janet, the 
feminine of John, and Elizabeth. 

After this century the early Teutonic almost en- 
tirely disappears : the only survivals are Hugh, Wal- 
ter and William — the latter especially having retained 
its hold in nearly every branch of the family, and in 
the country generally. And possibly a few of the 
Williams after this, or a little before, would be named 
from St. William of York. Before the decay of the 
old names, christian names had become simply ap- 
pellations, and were at this time largely taken from 
the lives of the saints, and it was customary to dedi- 
cate a child at its birth to a saint, whose name it bore 
and was believed to be under the saint's protection ; 
sometimes the name would be adopted from the saint 
on whose festival day the child was born, and annual 
birthday celebrations were held on the patron saint's 
festival. In the course of time they became stereo- 
typed from a family feeling, causing children to be 
named after their parents and kin ; this feeling ap- 
pears to have acted more strongly from about the 
beginning of the sixteenth century, when the medieval 



92 

church was losing her hold, after the revival of letters 
in Italy during the previous century, when classic in- 
fluences received a new birth. 

For a moment please return to the name as found 
in the twelfth century, when the greatest number of 
Teutonic christian names are met with, and along 
with this we see a wonderful piece of evidence of the 
intermixture of the Northmen with the Franks, or na- 
tives of Neustria (the name of the pro\'ince before it 
became our Normans' home). In the course of about 
three generations after their settlement there, and 
with their usual proclivity for taking wives from 
among other tribes, they have become mixed with the 
Franks, land now speak a dialect of the French ; then 
they add to their Teutonic personal names a Frank 
word as a further distinction and probably descriptive 
of their place of abode, or from their occupation or 
office. Thus we have the Norse and Frank combined, 
and giving names and surnames from both sources to 
their descendants. Very likely this rise of surnames 
would be a necessary measure taken to distinguish 
one family from another ; as this practice was con- 
tinued in after times when they were settled in En- 
gland and in Scotland, where a son, on obtaining an 
estate, very often adopted the name of the property 
as his distinctive appellation, and which was contin- 
ued by his descendants as their surname. In Scot- 
land, the usage with names of this class gave rise to 
the designation, "of that Ilk," as Forbes of Forbes, 
or Forbes of that Ilk. 



93 

The name Humfrey appears to have been a favour- 
ite with the Dryfsdale family during the first three cen- 
turies of their residence there. They were a knightly 
family, as the military title "Sir," applied to them, 
shows; and the one already mentioned at page 72 
was very likely one of the ten knights of Annandale 
who had to give military service to the King for their 
lands, held of the Lords of Annandale. This landed 
military class were a great power in the state at that 
time, and the kings of Scotland encouraged the Nor- 
mans to settle in the country, as they were the most 
efficient soldiers of their day — the chivalry of the Mid- 
dle Ages. Besides this encouragement from the kings, 
it is said the ladies also favoured the new comers, and 
this in part accounts for their rapid assimilation and 
diffusion over the country. 

The name William was of frequent occurrence 
among the Normans of the period. Whether any of 
them derived it from their great leader, Duke Will- 
iam, or those in Scotland from King William, it is 
impossible to say, but it is not found in Scotland be- 
fore their time, and it appears to have taken a firm 
hold in the country of their adoption, as the lists in 
part show. They also appear to have been fond of 
the names Galfrid or Geoffrey and Rudulph or Ralf, as 
they are found in other families about this time. These 
three names — Humfrey, Geoffrey and Ralf — may be 
said to have died out in the course of the fourteenth 
century ; but most of the others have continued to the 
present. 



94 

In the thirteenth century there is a marked in- 
crease of bearers of the name ; they are more than 
trebled, as a few of the names are repeated by differ- 
ent bearers. We see here a result of the long and 
wise reigns of thi-ee good kings, dwelling in amity with 
their neighbour, which has been likened to a golden 
age ; from William, in 1165, to the death of his grand- 
son, Alexander the Third, a hundred and twenty years 
after, when the country was plunged into the distract- 
ing conflicts of what was practically a civU war, for 
we find those of Norman descent pitched against oth- 
ers of the same race, their kinsmen ; just to mention 
one instance, de Bois against de Bois, or the Scotch- 
Norman branch against the Anglo-Norman branch of 
the family. And in the following century there is a 
falhng off in recorded names, accounted for by the 
long struggle of the War of Independence, in the lat- 
ter part of the tliirteenth and early part of the four- 
teenth century, with its accompanying disorganizing of 
peaceful pursuits, and consequent loss of life — a time 
when many of the Norman houses were completely 
cut off. And during the fourteenth century the family 
appears to have been just able to maintain its footing 
in the country ; after the death of The Bruce, in 1329, 
the country was again overwhelmed with war and dis- 
asters, in which they bore a full share, as far as can 
be gathered from the records. An instance of devo- 
tion to their country has been mentioned at page 18, 
under date 1332. With the fifteenth century we soon 
begin to see signs of returning prosperity and a nu- 



95 

merical increase of the bearers of the name ; although 
this is not shown in the list under consideration, yet 
there are actually more of them, as a number of the 
christian names are repeated two or tlu-ee times. And 
in 1422 we first make the acquaintance of the name 
James ; probably it marks an old custom of calling 
children after the reigning king. The reign of James 
the First, who was born in Dunfermline in 1394, com- 
menced in 1406, and the name continued uninterrupt- 
edly through five kings, till 1542, so that it became 
one of the most common in the country. This king 
was the means of giving a great impetus to trade and 
commerce, by new laws and enactments, and, as a 
probable consequence of the changes which he intro- 
duced, — with greater security to those engaged in 
trade, — we find the family settled in Fif eshire for the 
first time in the early part of the century, and appar- 
ently participating in the new life which was infused 
into the nation, and engaged as merchants in the Ab- 
bot of Dunfermline's town of Kirkaldy, where they 
were councillors and gave one occupant to the civic 
chair ; also it is a well-known fact that local magnates 
of that day were largely drawn from the landed pro- 
prietors or their younger sons. 

They seem to have spread very rapidly over Fife- 
shire, as they are found in goodly numbers toward 
the end of the century, when we begin to find the 
great changes in the name taking place as has been 
already mentioned. It is during this century that 
their amalgamation with the general population ap- 



96 

pears to approach completeness, when they laid aside 
their distinctive mark of Norman-French descent and 
accommodated the name to vernacular usage, the 
knowledge of which died out in the course of time, 
and gave rise to erroneous conjectures, in after times, 
with regard to the origin of the name. And here I 
may mention that a cousin informs me that a friend 
of his, who seemingly was interested in surnames, 
would maintain the name to have been "Boswell" 
originally, and that the last syllable had been dropped, 
when the truth is that " Boswell " was originally " de 
Bois-ville," as it is actually found in early records 
with this form of the suffix, and the first syllable is 
just the same as the original of " Boss ; " a compari- 
son shows how both names have been subject to the 
same changes, both having lost the letter i, under the 
same capricious influences. 

After this digression we will now turn to the six- 
teenth century. During this and the succeeding cen- 
turies the same christian names are continued, having 
before this become the recognised christian names of 
the country. The Eeformation of religion in 1560 does 
not seem to have made much difference in the chris- 
tian names used, with perhaps the exception of " Pat- 
rick," a saint name, which is found in 1536. I have 
not found this name after the above date, and prob- 
ably the change in the church may account for its 
absence since then ; but it has not been a favourite 
one. The name George, occurring in 1536, may pos- 
sibly be a saint name. 



97 

From my examination of the name I should say 
there has been very little, if any, change in it, as actu- 
ally borne by any branch of the family, since the early 
part of the seventeenth century. And, so far as I am 
aware, the list of forms given as presently in use in 
Scotland is complete. A remarkable fact contained 
in this list is the total extinction of the original or- 
thography, "Bois;" and out of the fifteen examples 
as borne now, only one-third are even composed of 
the same number of letters as the original, thus show- 
ing clearly that the general tendency has been to 
lengthen the name, by adding a syllable at the end, 
in most instances. My own experience of variations 
as applied to myself is not extensive, but I have been 
addressed as Bos, Bost, Boas, Bowes ; which are likely 
the result of carelessness or predilection on the part 
of the writers. And this may account for many of the 
varieties found in documents, and for exceedingly few, 
if any, of those found in actual use. But, as already 
mentioned, the present form of the name was deliber- 
ately adopted as a difference. 

THE NAME IN FICTION. 

Seldom is the name found in fiction, but as a nat- 
ural consequence of increase of population we might 
expect to find a bearer of the name in such a position 
as is described by John Gait, Scotch novelist, in his 
tale, "The Provost," written about 1821. There is no 
proof or knowledge of anyone of the name having 
actually been a town drummer ; but the tale gives a 



98 

picture of life in a Scotch burgh about one hundred 
years ago. 

The tale is told by Provost Pawkie, the chief act- 
or, and as an amusing sketch may be introduced here. 
Although it is a rather rough piece of stuff, there is 
truth to nature ; and at first sight a character having 
a more honourable part in a story might have been 
more acceptable to natural pride, but I hope we have 

got past 

" Lord, what will all the people say, 
Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor!!" 

and not set down all bearers of the name as knights 
or esquires, as some of our family histories were wont 
to do. Let this pass and allow us to see the enter- 
tainment provided in the tale : 

THE TOWN DEUMMEB. 

Nor did I get everything my own way, for I was often 
thwarted in matters of small account, and suffered from them 
greater disturbance and molestation than things of such little 
moment ought to have been allowed to produce within me; 
and I do not think that anything happened in the whole course 
of my public life which gave me more vexation than what I 
felt in the last week of my second provostry. 

For many a year one Eobin Boss had been town drum- 
mer; he was a relic of some American -war fencibles, and was, 
to say the plain truth of him, a divor body, with no manner of 
conduct, saving a very earnest endeavour to fill himself fou as 
often as he could get the means; the consequence of which 
was that his face was as plooky as a curran' bun and his nose 
as red as a partan's tae. 

One afternoon there was a need to send out a proclama- 
tion to abolish a practice that was growing into a custom, in 



99 

some of the bye parts of the town, of keeping swine at large — 
ordering them to be confined in proper styes and other suit- 
able places. As on all occasions when the matter to be pro- 
claimed was from the magistrates, Eobin, on this, was attended 
by the town officers in their Sunday garbs, and with their hal- 
berds in their hands; but the abominable and irreverent crea- 
ture was so drunk that he wamblet to and fro over the drum 
as if there had not been a bane in his body. He was seem- 
ingly as soople and as senseless as a bolster. StUl, as this was 
no new thing with him, it might have passed, for James Hound, 
the senior officer, was in the practice, when Robin was in that 
state, of reading the proclamations himself. On this occasion, 
however, James happened to be absent on some hue and cry 
quest, and another officer (I forget which) was appointed to 
perform for him. Eobin, accustomed to James, no sooner 
heard the other man begin to read than he began to curse and 
swear at him as an incapable nincompoop — an impertinent 
term that he was much addicted to. The grammar school was 
at the time skailing, and the boys, seeing the stramash, gath- 
ered round the officer, and, yelling and shouting, encouraged 
Robin more and more into rebellion, till at last they worked 
up his corruption to such pitch that he took the drum from 
about his neck, and made it fly like a bombshell at the offi- 
cer's head. 

The officers behaved very well, for they dragged Robin 
by the lug and the queue to the tolbooth, and then came with 
their complaint to me. Seeing how the authorities had been 
set at nought, and the necessity there was of making an exam- 
ple, I forthwith ordered Robin to be cashiered from the service 
of the town; and as so important a concern as a proclamation 
ought not to be delayed, I likewise, upon the spot, ordered the 
officers to take a lad that had been also a drommer in a march- 
ing regiment, and go with him to make the proclamation. 

Nothing could be done in a more earnest and zealous 
public spirit than this was done by me. But habit had begot 
in the town a partiality for the drunken ne'er do well, Robin, 

• LofC. 



100 

and this just act of mine was immediately condemned as a dar- 
ing stretch of arbitrary power; and the consequence was, that 
when the council met the next day, some sharp words flew 
among us, as to my usurj^ing an undue authority; and the 
thank I got for my pains was the mortification to see the worth- 
less body restored to full power and dignity, with no other 
reward than an admonition to behave better for the future. 
Now, I leave it to the unbiassed judgment of posterity to 
determine if any public man could be more ungraciously 
treated by his colleagues than I was on this occasion. But, 
verily, the council had their reward. 

AN AliAKM. 

The diver, Eobin Boss, being, as I have recorded, rein- 
stated in office, soon began to play his old tricks. In the 
course of the week after the Michaelmas term at which my 
second provostry ended, he was so insupportably drunk that 
he fell head foremost into his drum, which cost the town five- 
and-twenty shillings for a new one — an accident that was not 
without some satisfaction to me; and I trow I was not sparing 
in my derisive commendations on the worth of such a public 
officer. Nevertheless, he was still kept on, some befriending 
him for compassion, and others as it were to spite me. 

But Robin's good behaviour did not end with breaking 
the drum and costing a new one. In the course of the winter 
it was his custom to beat, •' Go to bed, Tom," about ten o'clock 
at night, and the reveille at five in the morning. In one of 
his drunken fits he made a mistake, and, instead of going his 
rounds as usual at ten o'clock, he had fallen asleep in a change 
house, and, waking about the midnight hour in the terror of 
some whisky dream, he seized his drum, and, running into the 
streets, began to strike the fire-beat in the most awful manner. 

It was a fine, clear, frosty moonlight, and the hollow 
eoimd of the drum resounded through the silent streets like 
thunder. In a moment everybody was afoot, and the cry of 
"Whar is't? whar's the fire?" was heard echoing from all 



101 

sides, Robin, quite unconscious that he alone was the cause 
of the alann, still went along beating the dreadful summons. 
I heard the noise and rose; but while I was drawing on my 
stockings, in the chair at the bed-head, and telling Mrs. Paw- 
kie to compose herself, for our houses were all insured, I sud- 
denly recollected that Robin had the night before neglected 
to go his rounds at ten o'clock as usual, and the thought came 
into my head that the alarm might be one of his inebriated 
mistakes ; so, instead of dressing myself any further, I went to 
the window, and looked out through the glass, without opening 
it, for, being in my night clothes, I was afraid of taking cold. 

The street was as throng as on a market day, and every 
face in the moonlight was pale with fear. Men and lads were 
running with their coats, and carrying their breeches in their 
hands ; wives and maidens were all asking questions at one 
another, and even lasses were fleeing to and fro, like water 
nymphs with urns, having stoups and pails in their hands. 
There was swearing and tearing of men, hoarse with the rage 
of impatience, at the tolbooth, getting out the fire-engine 
from its stance under the stair; and loud and terrible afar off, 
and over all, came the peal of alarm from the drunken Robin's 
drum. 

I could scarcely keep my composity when I beheld and 
heard all this, for I was soon thoroughly persuaded of the fact. 
At last I saw Deacon Girdwood, the chief advocate and cham- 
pion of Robin, passing down the causey Hke a demented man, 
with a red nightcap, and his big-coat on — for some had cried 
that the fixe was in his yard. " Deacon," cried I, opening the 
window, forgetting in the jocularity of the moment the risk I 
ran from being so naked, "whar away sae fast, deacon?" 

The deacon stopped and said, " Is 't oot? is 't oot? " 

" Gang your ways hame," quo I, very coolly, " for I hae 
a notion that a' this hobbleshow 's but the fume o' a gill in 
your frien' Robin's head." 

" It's no possible! " exclaimed the deacon. 



102 

" Possible here or possible there, Mr. Girdwood," quo' I, 
"it's owre cauld for me to stand talking wi' you here; we'll 
learn the rights o't in the morning; so, good night;" and 
with that I pulled down the window. But scarcely had I done 
so when a shout of laughter came gathering up the street, and 
soon after poor drunken Eobin was brought along by the cuff 
of the neck, between two of the town officers, one of them car- 
rying his drum. The nest day he was put out of oflBce forever, 
and, folk recollecting in what manner I had acted toward him 
before, the outcry about my arbitrary power was forgotten in 
the blame that was heaped upon those who had espoused Rob- 
in's cause against me. 

So much for Provost Pawkie and the supposed 
worthies of an out-of-the-way Scotch burgh of 1790. 
There are still Pawkie Provosts among us, and are 
likely to be to the end of time ; but the town drummer 
is an official of the past, and will no more entertain 
the burghers with his cantrips. 

But to return to matters of fact, in connection 
with our present enquiry : The author was a native of 
Irvine, Ayrshire, 1779-1839; he probably became 
acquainted with our name in the west of Scotland, as 
it originated in the adjoining shire of Lanark. 

And to sum up: This being an imported sur- 
name, as proved by the early Bruce charter quoted and 
by the language in which it first occurs, it has simply 
been treated by the Scotch people so as to adapt it to 
their own mode of speech, by the process of assimila- 
tion to words having a widely different meaning, but 
which were current among themselves, and which their 
tongues could easily **get round," to use a common 
expression relative to the pronunciation of an uncom- 



103 

mon word. The name has been as clay in the hands 
of the potters of the past centuries, and it can not be 
said that their productions, as a whole, are of much 
beauty ; no, it bears the marks of many a kneading, 
chopping, hacking, and mixing up and forming, into 
every conceivable or inconceivable shape, as the fancy 
of those whose minds and hands it has passed through 
might suggest. But in defiance of all the changes to 
which it has been subject, the cardinal points have 
been fairly well retained, considering that the bulk of 
the users did not understand its original meaning. 

There can be no doubt that it has puzzled many 
here at various times, and our version, "Boss," is 
still looked on as a foreign name, by the educated 
and the uneducated alike, and gives rise to hesitancy 
with the latter, whose knowledge does not extend be- 
yond their native tongue, and they invariably give it 
in pronunciation one of their native Doric forms. 

To give an illustration, and another proof : I find 
from the record of a patch of land called " Bois Acre," 
which belonged to, or was occupied by, one or more 
of our ancient kinsmen, at Inverkeithing, in the west- 
ern district of Fifeshire, the original form is still pre- 
served in the document. Now, on speaking to a native 
of the locality, and leading him on unconsciously to 
pronounce the name, what happens ? He gives it his 
own Doric monosyllable forms, " Bowes " or " Bowse ; " 
he is quite ignorant of the spelling, with which he does 
not trouble himself, and knows no other ; the oiv hav- 
ing the same sound as in now. 



104 

From the abundant examples given there can be 
no doubt that the name has acquired its varied native 
dress in the processes of assimilation and absorption, 
and from natural increase of families, giving rise to 
changes in spelling to difference of one household from 
another. And, as showing how strongly local influ- 
ences have operated, there is not one of the forms in 
use which may have been adopted as a difference, 
which indicates any consideration for the original 
meaning of the name ; thus tending to show that the 
original meaning had been lost or overlooked, after 
the lapse of about three hundred years. It is true 
some modern writers say that the name has been 
translated into the ordinary one "Wood," but of this 
I have seen no evidence further than the armorial 
bearings of families of this name being oak trees, — 
which is clearly allusive, — the earliest examples oc- 
curring along with the name about 1500. 

Armorial bearings have been aptly defined as " si- 
lent names," and in Workman's Scot" 
tish Armorial, compiled about 1565, 
is given the annexed coat of arms for 
the name of Blackwood, a Lanarkshire 
name. The blazon is Argent a sal- 
tire and on a chief sable, three oak 
leaves Or. The saltire and chief and 
The Blackwood Arms. Q^k Icaves suggest that they may be 
derived from the Annandale family, and lend colour 
to a translation of the name, but of this there is no 
direct proof. 




105 



And to end this long, rambling letter, I beg to 
remain Yours truly, 

Wm. Graham Boss. 



Note: The second figure at page 74 
has been inserted by inadvertence, and I take 
this opportunity of giving the correct bearing 
from an original impression of the seal in the 
British Museum; and although I mention 
there that the sal tire or St. Andrew's cross 
represents a crusader, yet, as the first Bruce 
of Annandale married the heiress thereof, the 
heraldic figures on the second half may be 
for maternal descent, the male coat having precedence. 

W. G. B. 




Henry R. Boss to William Graham Boss. 



Chicago, June 1, 1900. 
Mr. William Graham Boss. 

My Dear Sir : At last, after much tribulation and 
many unforeseen hindrances, and very many things 
forcing themselves on my attention and taking my 
time, I have at last succeeded in getting your letter 
in type, and am thereby reminded that it is my turn 
to " contribute to the festivities." I shall not be able 
to do so as successfully as you have done ; indeed, 



106 

my contribution, when compared with yours, will be 
a beggarly one. 

To me, it is passing strange that so many people, 
who, it would seem, ought to be interested in the sub- 
ject of our inquiry, are so utterly indifferent to it 
that they refuse, or neglect, to answer the simplest 
letters of inquiry. It is not that my letters do not 
reach them ; for the envelops bear a printed request 
for their return in the event of non-delivery, and not 
one of them has ever come back to me. I have 
hope that, when we shall have got out one volume on 
the subject, it may be brought to the attention of 
those who can and will afford the information that I 
am now seeking, so that the publication of a subse- 
quent volume will be justified. 

I have received the following letter from Dr. C. W. 
Larison, which contains several points of interest : 

RiNGOS, N. J., March 1, 1900. 
Henry R. Boss : 

In reading the pages relative to the Boss Family which 
you sent me, I see that one of your correspondents speculates 
concerning the origin of the family by name Boss and the deri- 
vation of the name Boss. Hoping to help some in arriving at a 
proper conclusion in these matters, and to make you certain in 
the matter of origin of Honas Boss, the primogenitor of the 
Bosses in the county of Hunterdon, N. J., I beg to state a few 
facts : 

Honas Boss and Henry Boss, as appears in the deed by 
which they held lands which are now a part of the village in 
which I live, came from the Palatinate, between Wolfenbtit- 
tel and Halberstadt, in Saxony. They came to this country in 
1707, along with the Ents and Butterfauses, ancestors of my 



107 

mother. The story told me by my ancestors runs thus : Fred- 
eric Augustus, elector of Saxony, when he turned from the Re- 
formed church to the Romish, so harassed the Protestants of 
his country that many of them, in that district called the Pala- 
tinate, moved, in 1705, over to Neuwied, in Rhenish Prussia? 
thence into Holland; thence, in 1707, they sailed to America, 
Their intention was to settle among the Dutch in New York, 
but adverse winds drove them into Delaware Bay, up which 
they sailed to Philadelphia, Pa. Having then determined to 
finish the remainder of the journey to the Dutch settlements 
in New York on foot, they set out from what is now the corner 
of Fourth and Vine streets, crossed the Delaware at New Hope, 
and entered the forests of the Redshal Valley of Central New 
Jersey, in which, as yet, no settlements had been made, but 
which was (but had been only from 1702, at which time those 
speculators purchased a part of it of the Indians) in the hands 
of land speculators, anxious to secure purchasers.* Lured by 
the fertility of the soil, the abundance of rivulets and springs 
of wholesome water, and the smallness of price at which they 
could purchase, they, in favored spots, from the Delaware to 
the Raritan, selected what, in the course of events, became 
their domiciles — to which their descendants have clung with 
almost matchless tenacity. 

To you it may seem queer that, in a deed by which an 
early citizen of New Jersey held an estate, his nativity was 
mentioned. The lands of West Jersey were, at first, owned 
by twelve men, by patent from the crown of England. They 
sold these lands, before there were provisions made to preserve 
deeds, etc., to whomsoever would purchase, giving the pur- 
chaser a deed in the form of an indenture, in which, to iden- 
tify, as closely as possible, both him who sold the land and him 



* The part of New Jersey in which I live was not pnrchased 
of the Indians until 1702, and land speculators could not give 
valid deeds until after that date. 



108 

who bought it; and to show that he who sold the land was the 
lawful owner thereof, and that the purchaser was a proper per- 
son to own lands and act as a member of society, the history 
of each was given, if not a citizen of one of the American colo- 
nies, clear back to the nation, township, city or village from 
which he came; and in case he had made stop-overs on the 
way, these stoppings, if he had staid only a little while, were 
in the deed mentioned. Further, in each of these old deeds 
(and in my possession are many an old parchment by which 
the first settlers held their lands) is stated the rank, occupa- 
tion, station in society, etc. of both him who made the deed 
and him to whom the deed is made. Further, until near the 
Revolution, if a piece of land had been sold twenty times, each 
deed of conveyance had to enumerate each person who had 
prior thereto owned said lot of land and the date of the deed 
by which he held it, etc. So it happens that one of these old 
ramskins, as we call them, often contains a deal of very inter- 
esting history. 

The name, written by Honas Boss and by his brother, 
Henry (a very wealthy man, who never married), as I have 
seen in several papers written by themselves, in Dutch, is Boss. 

The Ents, Butterfauses, Johnsons, Bosses, etc. were very 
proud of their nativity, and from parent to children have handed 
down in tradition and in writing the story of their exile, the 
hardships they suffered in coming to this country, their strug- 
gles and their labors in cutting away a virgin forest and estab- 
lishing in this goodly land homes and institutions which seemed 
to be very sacred to them. The speaking of the tongue native 
to this people was so persisted in that my great-grandmother 
(died in 1850), my grandmother and my mother, when to- 
gether, spoke in Dutch. In the same tongue, in my childhood, 
I have heard the older Bosses, the Laushes, the Ents et al. 
talk, when chatting of matters relating to olden times. 

I do not recall any books, papers or other things in print 
which will inform you respecting folks by the name of Boss. 



109 

In New Jersey, or elsewhere, I have seen the name seldom. Of 
persons in New Jersey there are, so far as I know, very few 
whose name is Boss. 

Pleased will I be if in any way I can further contribute 
to your work of gleaning facts relative to the work you have 
in hand. Very respectfully, 

C. W. Lakison. 

Tho the families named by Dr. Larison seem to 
have come to America from provinces in Germany, it 
also appears that they were Dutch, or Hollanders. 
They themselves may have been but sojourners in 
Germany previous to their emigration hither, or they 
may have been the immediate descendants of Dutch 
sojourners there. But direct evidence of their Dutch 
origin is afforded by the persistence with which they 
clung to the tongue of Holland, up to and including 
the generation immediately preceding Dr. Larison's. 

A correspondent suggests, as my grandfather's 
middle name was Garner, that that may have been 
his mother's maiden name. (See Sylvia Boss, page 
11.) The supposition is a probable one. 

In a work entitled *' Contributions for the Gene- 
alogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of 
Albany," publisht by Joel Munsell, Albany, N. Y., 
1872, I find the following : 

BOS (Bosch, alias Van Westbroeck), Comelis Teunise, 
it is said, came to Beverwyck in 1631 as servant or bouwknecht 
to Comehs Maase Van Buren. His wife was Maritie Tomase 
Mingael, who after his death in 1666 married Jurriaen Janse 
Groenwout. He owned considerable real estate in the village. 
At his death he had one daughter, Wyntie, living. He was 



110 

accused frequently before the court of slander and backbiting^ 
in 1657 by Do. Schaets; in 1658 of having defamed the honor- 
able court; and again in 1659, for which he was fined 1,200 
guilders and banished for twelve years ; next year he was again 
arraigned for a similar ofPense against Willem Teller. 

BOS, Pieter Janse, and Susanna Barentse. . . . his 
wife, m. 1788. Children: Eytie, baptized March 24, 1689; 
Jan, bap. August 4, 1691; Jenneken, bap. in New York De- 
cember 1, 1693; Sara, bap. in New York June 20, 1697. 

BOS (Bosch), Gysbert, and Hester Eyck [Eyckse Van 
Vranken?], his wife. Children: Kachel, b. March 12, 1772; 
Mary tie, b. January 24, 1766; Eebecca, b. September 14, 1768J 
Hester, b. July 16, 1771; Pieter, b. August 13, 1777. 

The same work states that 

Pieter Bogardus, mariner, married Wyntie Cornelis Bosch, 
daughter of Cornelis Teunise Bosch and Maritie Thomas Min- 
gael. (Bogardus died in 1703.) 

The city of New York has publisht " Records of 
New Amsterdam," as the city was named, translated 
from the original Dutch. In Volume III of these rec- 
ords, among the " Minutes of the Court of Burgomas- 
ters and Schepens of New Amsterdam," is found the 
following. In the same Minutes mention is made of 
Albert Bos or Bosch, and of Hendrick, Jan, Jan Jan- 
sen and Pieter Comelisen Bos : 

Sept. 27, 1658: Pieter Cornelisen Bos of Pumerlant, ship 
carpenter, appears in Court exhibiting certain writing of pro- 
curation under signature, anji not notarial, of Philip Schoerle- 
maar, dated 24 April, 1658, in virtue of which he demands from 
Lauwerens Jansen the sum of fl. 650. Holland Currency, which 
the aforenamed Lauwerens Jansen reo** on bottomry from the 
abovenamed Philip Schoerlemaar. Lauwerens Jansen appears 



Ill 

in Court; admits that he the fl. 650 rec'' on bottomry and 
says the curators shall regulate the estate, from which the 
fl. 650 may be paid. The Court decree, as Lauwerens Jansen 
has rec*^ fl. 600 from the estate in beavers, that he shall bring 
and pay to the curators the fl. 600 in beavers, and collect with 
the curators the remaining debts, from which the abovenamed 
Pieter Comelisen Bos may be paid. 

The last paragraf above is notable chiefly for the 
mention of the occupation of Pieter Cornelisen Bos 
as a ship-carpenter and the reference to "bottomry." 
These suggest a possible connection with the " three 
navigators " mentioned by Miss Marie S. Avery, on 
page 20. 

In a list of early immigrants to New Netherlands 
('* New York Genealogical and Biographical Eecord," 
Vol. rV, page 188) are the following : 

Bos, Cornelis Teunissen, 1631. 

Bos, Hendrick, from Leyden, wife and two children, De- 
cember, 1659. 

Bossch, Jan, from Westphalen, September 2, 1662. 

I gather a few bits of information from D. T. Val- 
entine's History of New York City, publisht by G. P. 
Putnam & Co. in 1853. Among the owners of houses 
and lots about the year 1674, at the time of the final 
cession to the Enghsh, was 

Henry Bosch, Dutch. 

Among the inhabitants of the city in 1703 were : 

Bos, Peter, 1 male, 1 female, 3 children. 

Bos, Jan Pietersen, 2 males. 

Bos, Hendrick, 1 male, 1 female, 4 children. 



112 

Among the members of the Dutch Church, New 
York, in 1686, were 

Hendrick Bosch, en zyn huys vrow, Egbertje Dircksen. 

Among the '* small burghers " in New Amsterdam 
(New York), in 1651, was 

Jacob Will van der Bos, mason. 

Some months ago, an enthusiastic friend in Lon- 
don, Eng., who is connected with Notes and Queries, 
inserted in that periodical a copy of the printed slip 
which I have been sending out, asking for informa- 
tion ; and to this I have had some replies. The first 
one, as nearly as I can make it out, — for the writing 
is of the vertical kind and very difficult to read, — is 

as follows : 

Windermere Bank, Bowness, 

Westmoreland, September 3, 1899. 

Dear Sir: Seeing yotir query as to your ancestors, in 
Notes and Queries, I write to say that a Thomas Boyse mar- 
ried Bemers Preston, of Watlington Hall, Norfolk, and has 
one son, Augustus Freeman, born September 26, 1822. 

Thomas Boyes, great-grandson of Nathaniel Boyse, set- 
tled in Wesford 1781, and purchased the estate of Bannow. 
He married Margaret Jackson. His son, Samuel, married 
Dorothy Carew, and had Thomas (his heir), Shaft and Eich- 
ard. His son married Jane Stratford, but he had no children, 
so was succeeded by his brother. 

Is this any guide to you ? 

Faithfully yours, Elise A. Strong. 

The following would seem to add to the chances 
of variation in the form of our family name. That of 
Bass is not infrequent in this country, or in this city, 



113 

some of its members having acquired considerable 
prominence : 

28 Angel Hill, Bury St. Edmunds, 
Suffolk, September 10, 1899. 

Dear Sir: Observing your note in Notes and Queries, ask- 
ing for information abont the Boss family, I just write to say 
that, in editing the Parish Eegister of Horningsheath, alias 
Horringer, two miles from this town, I have come across sev- 
eral entries of the Bass family in the eighteenth century, and 
one entry in the seventeenth century where it is written Boss^ 
Two hundred years ago, when spelling was less fixed than it is 
now, the same name was often spelt sometimes with an o, some- 
times with an o, and then as time went on would get fixed in 
one or in the other. It may, therefore, help you to find what 
you want if you know that your name is probably the same 
name as Bass. 

I do not see any William and Sylvia in the Horringer 
Eegisters. The Bass entries lie between 1699 and 1786. 
Yours truly, Sydenham Ha. Hervey. 

So far as the American Bosses are concerned, I 
think Mr. Hervey's surmise is incorrect; for, some- 
how, — I can not tell why, — I feel that, in this case, 
at least, there is no connection between the names 
Boss and Bass. 

Mr. E. A. Colbeck, a professional compiler of ge- 
nealogies, etc., writing from London, Eng., under the 
date of October 2, 1899, makes some interesting sug- 
gestions, as follows : 

Permit me to state, with regard to surname, — it is worth 
Consideration, — that, even if the origin is proved, it can only 
be a very small matter of interest, and would certainly not 
assist in the least with regard to tracing family history. 



114 

Should such origin be simply traditional — the fact remains 
that all matters of tradition must be eliminated from geneal- 
ogy, as this science must rest upon facts alone — any such tra- 
dition can not truly be termed " bits of family history." 

The only correct way to compile and prove a pedigree is 
to commence with the earliest members contained in the fam- 
ily history in hand, and to trace back, step by step, viz., gen- 
eration by generation, and supply incontrovertible proofs of 
result, by extracts from records, registers, wills, etc. 

A few years ago a friend pickt up in a bookstore 
in this city, and presented to me, a copy of the sec- 
ond edition of Goold Brown's " Grammar," publisht 
about 1832 (for the title-page is missing and only the 
certificate of copyright remains to fix the date). On 
the inside of the cover is written, in a childish hand, 
" Susan A. Boss' Book, Clarkson, N. Y." The same 
name occurs in other parts of the book, and once that 
of " Julia D. Boss ; " and in one instance the words 
" Clarkson Colage," signifying that there may, some- 
time, have been a college there, tho I have been un- 
able to find any mention of it in the only local his- 
tory that I could get access to. There has never been 
a Susan or a Julia in any branch of the family which 
I have known, or in any of the collateral branches. 
I have written to several parties at both Clarkson and 
Brockport, but, tho I inclosed stamps for return post- 
age, I have received no reply. This, by the way, is 
not an unusual experience with me. 

Clarkson is a little place of about three hundred 
inhabitants, in Monroe County, N. Y., a few miles 
from Kochester, the county seat, and about three 



115 

miles from Brockport. A few days since, I met, in 
a restaurant, a gentleman, (a stranger) who had lived 
and done business in Brockport for several years, and 
who said that he had married his wife at Clarkson. I 
thought I would certainly get some information from 
him ; but, alas ! he had never even heard of the name 
Boss. 

You have on a previous page given me the auto- 
graf of one of your ancestors. I take pleasure in pre- 
senting here a facsimile of the entry in my old family 
Bible of the marriage of my grandfather and grand- 
mother, which was solemnized almost a hundred and 
five years ago. The record is in the bold handwriting 
of my grandfather, and was probably made between 

1826 and 1830, as the book was publisht in the former 
year. The leaf on which the record is made is stained 
by time, but the writing is scarcely dimmed at all. It 
is evidently the work of one accustomed to the use of 
the pen. The worst fault in it is the careless manner 
in which the name "Leah" is written, causing it to 
appear like " Loah." 



116 

From a record of the Wilkinson Family I learn 
that Hon. M. S. Wilkinson married a Sally Boss — 
only this, and nothing more. Morton Smith Wilkin- 
son was born at Skaneateles, N. Y., in the central 
part of that State, January 22, 1819. He settled in 
Minnesota in 1847, and in 1859 was elected United 
States Senator, holding that position until 1865. He 
served in the lower house of Congress from March 4, 
1869, until March 3, 1871. Mr. Wilkinson died some 
years ago. One of his grandsons lives in Minnesota, 
but, tho I have written him, explaining the object of 
this inquiry, he makes no sign, and I am left in the 
dark on those points concerning which I most desired 
information. 

"The Germans (including the Dutch and Swiss 
and a few Huguenots) were practically the only ' for- 
eigners ' in colonial times. In 1727 a law was passed 
requiring them to take the oath of allegiance. All 
males of and above sixteen years of age were com- 
pelled to do this."* The lists of the names of these 
foreigners have been compiled, indexed and publisht 
as Vol. XVII, Second Series, Pennsylvania Archives. 
From this volume I have gathered a few items that 
may sometime be of interest to us. 

The word '* qualified " herein refers to the taking 
of the oath of allegiance to King George and the Prov- 



* Letter of Kev. A. Stapleton, A. M., M. S., in the Chi- 
cago Daily News. 



117 

ince of Pennsylvania, which, it seems, was required 
of all foreigners immediately upon their arrival here : 

List of foreigners imported in the ship Two Brothers, 
Thomas Amott, Master, from Rotterdam. Qualified October 
13, 1747. 

Johannes Bosch. 
List of foreigners imported in the ship Peggy, James 
Abercrombie, Commander, from Rotterdam, last from Plym- 
outh. Qualified September 24, 1753. 
Franz Joseph Boss. 
Foreigners imported in the ship Nancy, Capt. John Ew- 
ing, from Rotterdam, took and subscribed the usual oath and 
declaration on Saturday, the 14th of September, 1754. [In- 
habitants of Lorain.] 
Christian Boss. 
List of foreigners imported in the ship Sally, John Os- 
mond, Commander, from Rotterdam. Last from Portsmouth, 
Eng. Qualified August 23, 1773. 
Johan Christoph Boss. 
List of foreigners imported in the ship Union, Andrew 
Bryan, Captain, from Rotterdam, last from Cowes. Qualified 
September 30, 1774. 
Jacob Boss. 
List of passengers per the ship Tom, Capt. F. R. C. Per- 
mein. Master, from Hamburgh. Arrived October 12, 1802. 
Johan Gotfried Bosse. 

In the Newberry Library, in this city, is a quaint 
volume, printed in Dutch, entitled " Leeven en Daden 
Der Doorbuchtighste Zee-Helden en Outdeckers van 
Landen, Deser Euwen." Written by Lambert van 
den Bos, 1610-98. Printed at Amsterdam 1676. 

In Eose's Biographical Dictionary, publisht in 
London in 1853, I find the following : 



118 

BOS, the surname of Bome Dutch artists. Jerome, called 
also Bosche, born at Bois-le-Duc, about 1470, excelled in paint- 
ing specters and other supernatural subjects, which generally 
offended by their extravagance, in spite of a free hand and 
skilful coloring, that give them considerable value as works of 
art. He has, however, so painted some serious subjects as to 
avoid his faults, and yet exhibit the excellence really belong- 
ing to him. He was likewise an engraver, and died about 
1530. — Lewis Jansen, also born at Bois-le-Duc, but rather ear- 
lier than the preceding, became eminent for painting flowers, 
fruits and plants, ordinarily grouped in glasses, or vases of 
crystal, half filled with water. He died in 1507. — Gasper Van- 
den, a marine painter, born at Hoorn, in 1634, is distinguisht 
by a light free touch, a pleasing tint of color and an artful 
manner of handling. He died in 1666. 

The same work gives Lambert Bos, born Novem- 
ber 23, 1670, at Warcum, in Friesland (in the Nether- 
lands), who became eminent as a scholar. 

On page 112, in the list of members of the Dutch 
Church in New York, I should have inserted : 

Albert Bosch, en zyn vroio huys, Elsje Blanck. 

It seems to me that all the information I am able 
to gather is of a fragmentary, "patchwork" charac- 
ter. It is possible, however, that some of these odd 
bits may afford clues to matters of much greater im- 
portance. But — are we any nearer a solution of the 
problem than when we began ? 

I shall await your next letter with much interest, 
and hope that I may sometime be able to present 
something of greater value than I have hitherto. 
Yours very truly, Henry E. Boss. 



119 



William Graham Boss to Henry R. Boss. 

Edinburgh, April 5, 1901. 
Mr. Henry R. Boss, Chicago. 

Dear Sir : Your lengthy letter came to hand a 
considerable time since. Our friend Dr. Larison, in 
his communication, places on a sound basis, so far, 
the source from which his friends of the name are de- 
rived. It appears, from what you have written and 
collected, and from what I have learned otherwise, 
to be the general impression in America that the 
name is originally German or Dutch ; but I hope our 
correspondence will go to show that it is not necessa- 
rily so, being found at least as early as 1298, however 
sooner, in England under the spelling " Bosse," and 
later in Scotland. Our correspondence will also show 
little or no reason for doubt but that the name has 
had a variety of origins. I will give the traditional 
account of the name and its origin in Scotland as 
transmitted by my ancestors ; but before proceeding 
with this it would be as well to devote a few lines to 
the " Bois " family in Scotland, which I have hitherto 
confined myself to the consideration of, as from my 
enquiries I find a pretty general impression here that 
" Boss " is believed to be derived from " Bois ; " but 
of the fact I have not found any evidence whatever, 
as applied to a surname, excepting only in relation to 
a place name to be presently mentioned. 

In the list at page 85, two of the name " Boys," 



120 

belonging to Lanarkshire, are on record in 1296. 
They held a small estate in the parish of East Kil- 
bride at that time, and from whom their lands took 
the name of " Boysfield." Not that they gave the 
place this name themselves ; but most likely it would 
be given to their possession by neighbouring inhabit- 
ants, in much the same way as a farm in the state of 
Minnesota, belonging to my cousin Andrew Boss, son 
of Andrew Boss and Jane Nicol of La Prairie, Eock 
County, Wisconsin, was called " Boss' Corner " by 
people in the district. As it was a stopping-place for 
stage-coaches a generation since, this would possibly 
lead to the designation, in a colloquial manner. 

This place in Lanarkshire provides a good ex- 
ample of the changes which names undergo in the 
course of time : In 1416 the name is Boysfeld ; in 
1502-4 it is Boysfeild and Boyisfeld ; about 1640 and 
1680 it has become Bosfeld ; before 1793 it has set- 
tled into Bossfield, and retains this form until the 
present time. 

So far as I have seen, the early Boys proprietors 
do not appear to have continued long in possession, 
as a part of it belonged to another family in the year 
1416, and it had again changed hands previous to 
1502. And there is no record of anyone of the name 
Boss having belonged to the parish or district at any 
time. Mr. Ure, who was the parish clergyman, gives 
a list of the surnames in the district when he wrote 
his History of East Kilbride about 1790, and this one 
is not among them ; neither do the parish records. 



121 

which go back to 1688, record any of this surname. 
The name Gait, as we have seen connected with our 
name in fiction, is found in the parish and neighbour- 
hood at the end of the eighteenth century ; and in all 
probability the author of " The Towti Drummer" bor- 
rowed his name for the character from this place. 

From enquiry and consideration of the history of 
our name in Scotland I think the true explanation of 
the origin and source of the name, as borne by those 
in or from Scotland, who are all descended from one 
common ancestor, must lie with the traditional ac- 
count as handed down by my ancestors. I confess 
that I was rather skeptical of it at one time, but, 
since looking into the matter, and having found other 
traditions in the family to be substantially correct, I 
see no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the 
tradition, especially in the light of the evidence in 
regard to the history of the name which I have been 
able to collect. 

The traditional account is that the name was 
originally Boswell, or more probably Bosswell, as it 
used to be very often written, and that they had been 
settled in the western district of Fifeshire for many 
generations, where they possessed lands from father 
to son, for three or four hundred years, on the terms 
that it was to be theirs so long as grass grew and wa- 
ter ran, and so long as it continued in the family 
name by lineal succession. This latter provision 
might mean that if the male line failed the property 
would return to the superior, or that the husband of 



122 

an heir female would be required to take the family 
name. 

In the course of time it happened that a near 
neighbour and kinsman, traditionally spoken of as 
*' The Laird," who, my grandmother used to say, was 
named David Bosswell, and my ancestor, also named 
David Bosswell, were, through dwelling in the same lo- 
cality, often mistaken for one another by the post offi- 
cials, who are said to have sent up the letters, etc. in a 
bag once a week, the letters for one being delivered to 
the other, and vice versa. To put a stop to the incon- 
venience caused by this misdelivery of letters, etc., it 
was agreed that my ancestor should drop the second 
syllable of his name and use only the first one, which 
his descendants have continued to use, with some ex- 
ceptions to be mentioned further on. Thus it comes 
about that another saying in my family, that all the 
Scotch Bosses are related to one another, just means 
that they are all descended from this one common 
ancestor who changed his name. I have not ascer- 
tained when the change took place, but I suppose, 
from the comparative freshness of the tradition, and 
considering the political and social state of this coun- 
try during the second half of the seventeenth century, 
that the change was made about that time. Our tra- 
dition points to an ancestor immediately before my 
great-grandfather, David Boss, 17 . . -1789, perhaps 
his father, as the one who made the change. And I 
suppose, from the traditional account, that they would 
be portioners or vassal kinsmen to the Laird, the chief 



123 

of the name designed of Balmiito, in the parish of 
Kinghorne ; as it was a common practice in bygone 
times for the younger sons of the chief house to be 
provided with a portion of land, or a farm, to enable 
them to make a living for themselves. There were 
three David Bosswells, or Boswells, lairds of Balmuto 
in succession between the years 1621 and 1705 ; and 
from a consideration of the circumstances I am in- 
clined to think the change was made in the time of 
the last of these Davids — 1667-1705. This is borne 
out by other coincidences which I will put shortly. 
On reference to the rise of the postal service in Scot- 
land, we find that before the middle of the seven- 
teenth century there was very little postal service ; 
anything before that time was sent by the ordinary 
carriers of goods, or by a special messenger, or by a 
friend traveling that way as is sometimes still done. 
From 1635 till 1658 the posts were in a spasmodic 
state, but from this latter year improvements in the 
service were introduced from time to time, although 
it was a monopoly in private hands till the year 1695, 
when an act of Parliament was passed establishing a 
general post office at Edinburgh, with branches to be 
erected throughout the country as occasion offered. 
Another coincidence tending to place the change about 
the end of the seventeenth century is found in the 
spelling of the name as Bosswell, the latest instance 
of this occurring, so far as I am aware, in the same 
year that the post office was established, and found in 
the register of the will of John Mure, ship captain. 



124 

Leith, and Isobel BosswcU, liis spouse, dated 15th 
April, 1605. Isobel was a family name, and my 
great-grandlatlier also had a daughter so named. 

As showing how the tradition has been kept alive 
in the family, I remember my father telling me that 
about 18'20, when his lather was thinking of removing 
from Sunnyside farm, in the parish of Saline, at the 
approaching expiry of the lease, he was offered the 
farm of l^andrum, in the same parish, by the proprie- 
tor, at a fixed rent, to him and his heirs for as long 
as grass grew and water ran, and so long as the fam- 
ily name continued in succession. Somehow he did 
not accept this offer, but removed to the farm of Over 
Dalkeith (situated in a hilly country and so named to 
distinguish it from Lower or Nether Dalkeith), in 
the adjoining parish of Fossoway, Perthshire, where 
he thiished his earthly career in 1837, and was in- 
terred in Saline churchyard beside his kindred. His 
wife, Margaret Graham, — twin daughter of David 
Graham in Bellsdyke, parish of Airth, Sterliugshire, 
by his first wife, Lily Boyd, — survived him for about 
twenty-five years, and was buried in the same ground, 
where their monumental stone hears record along 
with other stones of their kindred. My grandfather 
had the reputation in his day of a capable farmer and 
being particular to have all his affairs decently in or- 
der, and while still in the flesh he secured a last 
resting-place for himself and his beloved wife, as the 
headstone is dated 1817, the year of its erection. I 
give herewith a facsimile of his signature, from his 



126 

last DiHpOBition and Settlement, executed at Dun- 
fermline on the 23d September, 1830, when he was 
about eighty years of age. The Hettlement in too long 




to quote here with its various provisions for the dis- 
position of his estate and provision for his wife. But 
his signature may interest some of his descendants 
on your side of the great pond. 

A genealogical account of the Boswells of Hal- 
muto, Fifeshire, formerly the cliief of the name here, 
was given by Sir Tiobert Douglas, in liis Baronage of 
Scotland, published in 1708 ; but in the early genera- 
tions, besides other errors, there is no proof of the 
succession as given by him. Although their numbers, 
so far as recorded, are not great in the twelfth, thir- 
teenth and fourteenth centuries, they are found in 
sufficient numbers, and in a variety of positions, to 
give rise to doubt in family succession, in absence of 
written evidence. But there is no doubt that those 
of the name in the south of Scotland belonged to the 
same family stock. 

From an examination of the name Boswell in 
Scotland it appears that our abbreviation of the name 
was simply an adoption of the ancient practice of 
contracting the name in written records, and an- 
ciently it was also a heraldic practice for bearers of 



126 

the name to carry on their shields an allusive figure, 
as denoting the first syllable of their family name, 
But this will be better understood if I give a sketch 
of the name from its first appearance in our island, 
and it will be seen that changes in the name are not 
a new thing. 

Like the Bois family and many others, the Bos- 
wells are descended from one or more of the numerous 
adventurers who came over Avith William Duke of 
Normandy in 1066, or soon thereafter. This was a 
land for colonization at that time, and doubtless 
many would arrive at intervals during the Norman 
period. In M. Leopold de Lisle's list of the chief 
men who accompanied Duke William, two of the 
names are mentioned under what evidently was a 
place-name ; their names are Guillaume de Biville 
and Hanfroie de Biville. Perhaps they were from one 
of the places of this name, in the district between 
Rouen on the Seine and Dieppe on the coast. Saint 
Yalery, the port of embarkation, occupying a position 
in the same neighborhood. 

Boville as a place-name is also found in the same 
district, and probably gave rise to a separate sur- 
name ; we will take note of the arms of this name 
presently. And of course many came over of whom 
there is no record of when they first landed on this 
island, both before and after the Conquest in the lat- 
ter part of the eleventh century. Soon after the Nor- 
man settlement, the names " de Bevill," " de Boevill," 
" de Bovile," etc. are found spread over England in 



127 

various parts of the south and west and Yorkshire in 
the north ; passing from thence into the southern parts 
of Scotland, where the name first makes its appear- 
ance in record about the middle of the twelfth century. 

In the history of Scotland this was a period of 
great change, owing to the policy of King David the 
first, when Prince of Cumberland, and afterward as 
King of Scots. It was under his auspices that so 
many Normans and English settled in the lowlands 
of Scotland, and when he founded and endowed so 
many bishopricks and religious houses ; the princely 
and kingly example being followed by his nobles and 
others, as was the pious custom for some ages after 
his time, even to excess. We shall find the early 
Boswells, in common with others, following this fash- 
ion and giving of their substance for the support of 
the religious. 

One of the first BosweUs in point of time referred 
to in record occurs in the Eegister of Kelso Abbey, 
where a Pagani de Bosseuilla makes a donation, or 
gift, to the Abbey, of one bovate, or an oxgate of land, 
which amounts to thirteen acres, lying in the parish 
of Edenham, the modern Ednam, in the Merse, Ber- 
wickshire, close by Kelso, on the north side of the 
Eiver Tweed, about half way between Kelso and the 
village of Ednam. Along with others, this donation 
is recorded in the transcript of a charter of confirma- 
tion, granted by King William the Lion, after his ac- 
cession to the throne of Scotland in 1165, confirming 
gifts made to the Abbey by his grandfather King Da- 



128 

vid and his brother King Malcolm, and others, previ- 
ous to his accession ; although this charter is undated, 
it would probably be granted soon after he became 
King, as the monks are said to have been very careful 
to obtain confirmation of their possessions from each 
new sovereign without undue delay. And the position 
which the record of the gift occupies, in the list of 
donations, in the charter — occurring, as it does, 
among those first mentioned as belonging to the Ab- 
bey — favours a very early date for the time when 
the gift was made. Kelso Abbey was founded there 
about 1126, and the Abbey Church about two years 
later, by King David of pious memory. There are 
no remains of the Abbey buildings surviving to our 
time ; but from the stately fragment of the church 
remaining to this day, we gather that the architecture 
is mixed in style, although chiefly Norman in its 
main features of massive strength and endurance and 
severity of decorative portions ; passing into the more 
graceful first pointed, or Early English style, typify- 
ing a period of transition in stone and mortar, and 
coincident with the changes which the Norman names 
were undergoing during the same era, when a collat- 
eral welding process was taking place among the vari- 
ous peoples in the country, Saxons, Scots, Normans, 
English, etc., who had settled there under David, our 
first feudal King. 

The spelling of the name in this transcript repre- 
sents the orthography of the time when the register 
was made from the original document, and the time 



1 



129 

of the transcript has been found by the editor of the 
record to be of the first quarter of the fourteenth cen- 
tury. The original spelling, in all likelihood, would 
be more akin to the following example of the name 
from the same neighbourhood, and of the same pe- 
riod, but from the contemporary original record. 

About 1164-74 the Liber de Mailros records the 
earliest instance of the abbreviated form of the name, 
so far as I have seen, when a " dd de boiu','' or David 
de Boiuil, witnesses a charter of lands in Teviotdale, 
lying just under the Merse, the river Tweed running 
between the two, and the Teviot emptying its waters 
into the Tweed at Kelso. The lands witnessed to, in 
this charter, are situated to the east of Jedburgh, in 
the parishes of Hownam and Morebattle ; and I would 
note here the early occurrence of the name near Jed- 
burgh, in Teviotdale, and its form, as it foreshadows 
a variety of the name to be found in the succeeding 
centuries ; also the Christian name of this witness is 
noteworthy, being the first occurrence of David, sug- 
gesting the influence of King David on the colonists 
whom he was the means of planting in this district, 
and it would be quite natural for a colonist of this 
time to call one of his sons after his benefactor. From 
a consideration of these two early instances of the 
name I am inclined to place the arrival of the name 
in the district during the first thirty years of the 
twelfth century. 

The next bearer of the name found connected 
with Teviotdale is Eobert de Boseuill or Bosuile, as 



1 



130 

his name is variously written, between the years 1175 
and 1188, who appears to have been a man of posi- 
tion in this district, as a juryman and as a witness to 
various important matters. Then we require to pass 
over a few years until about 1224, when we have a 
Henry de Boyville witnessing a charter of the lands 
of Lesseline, Aberdeenshire, granted by John, Earl of 
Huntingdon, in England, which was an appanage of 
the Scottish crown at this time; he was a great- 
grandson of King David the First, and the grantee 
was Norman, son of Malcolm, who became the pro- 
genitor of the Leslies, who afterwards took the name 
of this property as their family surname, and became 
the Leslies of that ilk. The place where this charter 
was granted is not mentioned, but most of the wit- 
nesses appear to be Scotsmen — one of them named 
" de Lamberton," apparently of the place so called in 
the Merse, Berwickshire. And this Henry may be the 
party referred to by Nisbet, the great Scottish herald, 
who, writing about 1720, says that he had seen a 
charter of the lands of Oxmuir, in the Merse, in fa- 
vour of the Boswells, of the time of King Alexander 
the Second, 1214-49, but whom he does not particu- 
larize. How long they possessed lands at Oxmuir I 
do not know, but we will find the name there again. 
Meanwhile, to preserve the chronological order, let us 
pass into the adjacent county of Dumfries. 

In Annandale, at the court of Sir Robert Brus, 
lord thereof, we have, on July 29, 1249, as a witness 
to a grant of lands, William de Boyville, who proba- 



131 

bly was the progenitor of the Boyils of Whamphry, 
and of an Eaustace de Bovile in the same locality, 
to be mentioned about the end of this century. 

It would appear as if this Annandale family were 
a branch from the de Bovylls who settled near Car- 
lisle, in Cumberland, between 1100 and 1135, and had 
the barony of Levington, from which they took the 
name " de Levington," laying aside their own patro- 
nymic. They seem to have been on friendly terms 
with the Bruce family, as they are found witnessing 
documents in favor of the Bruces, lords of Annan- 
dale, etc., between 1194 and 1219. The first of the 
Levington family was Eichard de Boyville, who, or 
his successor, changed his name to " de Levington." 
Others of the name we find in the same county after- 
wards, as about 1204 a William de Beville takes part 
in a judicial matter at a court held at Carlisle ; in 
1212 Kobert de BoivUla witnesses a grant of lands to 
Furness Abbey ; then on August 18, 1268, William de 
Boyville, freeman of Cumberland, serves as a juror ; 
and after this the name becomes more numerous there. 

In Yorkshire, again, the name appears to have 
obtained a footing before it passed into Cumberland. 
The Bruce family held large estates in Yorkshire, and 
doubtless many of the Norman settlers would find 
their way north along the great Roman highways, one 
of which passed through Annandale, where the name 
" street " is still applied to the main highway ; another 
of these highways, called Watling Street, passed north 
from York by Boroughbridge, through Northumber- 



132 

land into Teviotdale, passing Jedburgh and Eox- 
burgh, on into Lothian. Another Roman road ran 
north from Carlisle, in Cumberland, on the west, 
through Ayrshire, to the vicinity of Glasgow, where 
we shall also see a branch of the family settled before 
the middle of the thirteenth century. 

Now, returning to the southern district of Scot- 
land, at the county town of Peebles, on July 4, 1259, 
at an inquisition held there on certain lands, before 
the justices of Lothian, we have a Roger de Bodevill 
serving as a juror. If I mistake not, the third letter 
of the name is a clerical error, and perhaps he is the 
same person who is placed third in Douglas' account 
of the family. 

Passing to the Merse again, we learn from Kelso 
Abbey rent-roll, drawn up in 1290, and the earliest 
rent-roll which has been preserved till our time, that 
William de Bosuile, of the parish of Hume, paid an 
annual rent of two shillings and six pence, two hun- 
dred eggs, and four days' work. This would be for 
lands held by him there — in all likelihood the farm of 
Oxmuir, extending at the present day to a little over 
two hundred acres. The modern farmsteading stands 
close by the site of a previous one, and I am informed 
that an ancient setting of small causeway stones has 
been come upon about five feet under the present sur- 
face, on the old site. There used also to be a number 
of very old trees close to the farm — a sure sign of 
long-continued occupation ; but they were all blown 
down about twenty years ago, during a great storm. 



133 

The situation of Oxmuir is on a southern sunny slope, 
about six hundred feet above the sea level, from which 
a great expanse of the Merse is beheld, with Kelso ly- 
ing at the base, about five miles distant, on the river 
Tweed, and beyond it Teviotdale. 

And passing into Teviotdale, we find the Bishop 
of Carlisle, in July, 1298, empowering the Abbot of 
Jedburgh to absolve the clergy within his jurisdiction 
who had been excommunicated for delaying to pay 
the tenth granted for the crusade to the Holy Land, 
proclaimed at this time ; and in September following 
the Bishop reports that one William de Boyvill has 
obdurately sustained a sentence of excommunication 
for forty days and more, and asking the aid of the 
secular power to enforce payment. Generally the 
Scots at this time appear to have been very unwilling 
to pay this tax, as this same Bishop made another 
effort, two years after, to recover tenths still unpaid. 
But of how William finished his resistance to this im- 
post there is no record. It required no little courage 
to withstand an all-powerful, despotic church, in such 
a superstitious age, in this country, and we can hardly 
realize the effect of church thunder on all the relations 
of the offender who came under the ban of the church ; 
it was a strict boycott of him and his, in every way. 

This member of the family appears to have been 
a man of substance in the neighbourhood of Jedburgh, 
and I take him to be a descendant of David de BoivU, 
already mentioned in the same locality in the previous 
century ; and it is worth while to note the spelling of 



134 



Beovill, Cornwall, En- 
gland, 1231-90. 



the name in both eases, as we shall have occasion to 
mention him again. 

We have now arrived at the time when armorial 
evidence becomes available, so let us look at the her- 
aldic figures of the early^bearers of the name. By the 
middle of the thirteenth century the name generally 
has become somewhat more bovine in the spelling, 
leading the old bearers to indulge in allusive or cant- 
ing armorials, and no doubt the 
armorial figures would have a 
strong reflex influence on the 
name. We will begin with the 
English families, as they were the 
earliest settlers in this country; 
and we find in Tristram Risdon's 
notebook, compiled early in the 
seventeenth century, that Eadol- 
phus Beovill, of Cornwall County, 
between 1231 and 1272, carried : Argent, a bull passant 
gules. And Sir Eeginaldus Beavill of Gwarnock, in 
the same county, about 1289-90, ako carried the same 
arms. A later variation of this armorial, borne by 
the same name in England, is, Ermine, a bull passant 
gules, armed and unguled Or. 

In Suffolk, again, those of the name Bovill, as 
William de Bovill bore on his seal, between 1272 and 
1307, a shield quarterly — probably. Quarterly Or and 
sable ; as one of this name, in the same county, in a 
roll of arms compiled between 1308-14, had his arms 
blazoned quarterly in these tinctures. Other mem- 




Argent, a bull passant 
gules. 




135 

bers of this family carried the quarterly shield, with 
variations in the arrangement of the tinctures, such 
as sable and Or, argent and sable, etc. In a few in- 
stances they used a bull passant quarterly sable and 
Or, as a crest ; this is just the con- Boviie, Suffolk, England, 
ventional heraldic treatment of a 
black and semi-yellow coloured 
bull, and the shield quarterly rep- 
resents, in heraldic manner, the 
particoloured tough bull's Mde 
spread over its surface, as was the 
ancient practice with some peoples 
to cover their war shields with the 
hides of animals. So far as I have Quarterly or and sabie. 
seen, those of the name Bovill never carried the bull 
on their shields, and, although the quarterly coat is 
allusive to their name, yet in all likelihood they were 
of different descent from those of the name Biville or 
Beville, etc. 

Eetuming now to Scotland, we have come to the 
period of the great Eagman Eoll, or roll of landown- 
ers, and other men and women of importance, in Scot- 
land, who swore fealty to King Edward the First in 
1296. In this roll, recording all who gave their oath 
of allegiance at Berwick on Tweed, are six of the 
name, three of whose appended seals have come down 
to our time. Their names as entered in the roll are : 
Eobert de Boyville, del counte de Are, whose seal is 
described as bearing on a shield a bull's head cabossed, 
with the legend, " S' Eob'ti de Boyvilla ; " William de 



136 



Boyvile, Koxburgh and 
Ayrshire, Scotland, 1296. 




Boseville, del counte de Eoxburgh, on whose seal is 
the same charge, a bull's] head cabossed, and the leg- 
end, " S' Will'i de Boyvile." Seals at this time do not 
show the heraldic colours of the shields, but in her- 
aldic practice these two shields would be differenced 
in the colouring. Also in heraldic law, the head, when 
shown on a shield, is held to rep- 
resent the whole animal, in much 
the same way as, in portraiture, 
the head indexes the whole person. 
And please note the variation in 
spelling of the name of this Rox- 
burghshire representative, whom I 
take to be the same man that we 
A bull's head cabossed. have secn defying the church in 
1293 , near Jedburgh, Teviotdale. 

Eustace de Boyville, del counte de Dunfres, whose 
seal bears, a saltire and on a chief a bull's head couped 
fessways, with the legend, " S' Eus- 
tacii de Boiwill." This is the rep- 
resentative of the Annandale branch 
of the name, already mentioned in 
1249; and they are said to have 
continued, in the main hne, in pos- 
session of the property at Wham- 
phrey, till the year 1513, when an 
heir female married into the Johns- 
ton family and carried the prop- 
erty with her. 

The other three, whose seals have not come down 



Boiwill, Dumfriesshire, 
Scotland, 1296. 




A saltire, and on a chief a 
bull's head couped fess- 
ways. 



137 

to us, are : William de Boseville, del counte de Ber- 
wyke — the same, in all probability, who is mentioned 
in Kelso Abbey rent-roll of 1290, and of the parish of 
Hume, in that county ; Richard de Boyvile, del counte 
de Are ; and another William de Boseville, burgess of 
Roxburgh, acting in his official capacity of councillor, 
together with the alderman and other ten councillors, 
who take the oath of fealty on behalf of the commu- 
nity and town of Roxburgh, in token whereof they 
affix the burgh seal. And perhaps a seventh repre- 
sentative in the person of William Bule, del counte 
de Are. 

The various spellings of the name are worthy of 
note, as they indicate the forms it was to assume 
after this time, in the various branches settled in dif- 
ferent localities of Scotland- There were three main 
branches : One settled in Teviotdale and the adjoin- 
ing Merse, one in Annandale and one in Ayrshire. 

The Ayrshire and Annandale families both ap- 
pear on record about the middle of the thirteenth cen- 
tury, in their respective localities ; and a peculiarity 
in the spelling of their name, so far as I have seen, is 
the absence of the letter s, and in the course of time 
it easily slipped into one syllable, as we find it writ- 
ten, in 1362, Boyll ; in 1367, Boyuil ; in 1460, Thomas 
Bullyn, the canon of Glasgow, bears a bull's head 
cabossed on his seal ; in 1482, Boyle ; in 1500, Boyl ; 
in 1512, Boyle. The chief family of the name in Ayr- 
shire were the Boyvils of Caulburne, or, as it has be- 
come modernly, Boyle of Kelburn, in the district of 
Cunningham, North Ayrshire. They were advanced to 



138 

the peerage in the seventeenth century, as Earls of 
Glasgow, and they still are proprietors of Kelburn, 
which they have held at least from the middle of the 
thirteenth century. Their family arms are : Or, three 
bucks' horns gules ; and, allowing for changes made 
in the course of time, possibly these tinctures would 
be the heraldic colours of Robert de Boyvil, the bearer 
of the bull's head cabossed in 1296. 

Returning to Teviotdale, in the county of Rox- 
burgh, where we have seen the name on record be- 
tween 1164 and 117.5, under the contracted form " de 
Boiu'," or de Boiuill, and finding the name on the seal 
in 1296 as de Boyvile, with the bull's head cabossed 
as armorial bearings, I think there is no doubt — even 
though we find one recorded in the same locality with 
the s in the name ; or the Latinized form, which is easily 
accounted for by the clerkly habit of the scribe — but 
that the local pronunciation would be something like 
as if it had been spelled " Bule." Then, again, Will- 
iam de Boyvile, — to take the spelling on his seal, — 
of the county of Roxburgh or Teviotdale, swears fealty, 
in August, 1296, at Berwick, along with a small group 
of chief men from the same district, among whom are 
some well-known names in the section round Jed- 
burgh, for centuries after tliis time ; one of the best 
known being the Baron of Cavers, on the Teviot. 

The heraldic bearing of the ))ull, or the bull's 
head, are arms parlantes, or arras hinting at the 
name of the bearer; and in the course of time the 
armorial figure would have some influence in chan- 



139 

ging the name as well as local habit of assimilating 
and slumping names. It was an old practice to speak 
of bearers of shields by the tigiires they carried there- 
on ; and we do not require to strain our imagination 
very much to suppose that the Teviotdale members 
of the family would be called Bule, which is just an- 
other form of Boyle, as now used by the Ayrshire 
branch, and as my own appears to be simply a Sax- 
onized Latin shape of the first syllable of the original 
name, derived, in all probability, from the allusive 
armorial bearing, the figure apparently being looked 
on in a loose way, at this early time, as the head of a 
bull or of an ox. This way of speaking about people 
from the heraldic figures they bore is illustrated by the 
late sixteenth-century rhyming Scotch " Prophecie of 
Sybilla and Eltrain," so called, but actually owing its 
existence to political faction of that time. While its 
primary object was political, the composer of the lines 
made use of popular heraldic phraseology to indicate 
the persons to whom he refers : 

•' The Beares head Jind the Brock, 
the beame and the bloodie yoke, 
three Crescentes and a Cok 

Shall come from the North ; 
they shall come to the broyle, 
And Knights keenely shall toyle. 
For loue of the sinkfoile, 

And fight upon Forth." 

Without going into the details of the " Prophecie" 
I may indicate a few of the possible references. Thus 



140 

the bear's head is for Barou Forbes ; the brock may 
be for Mackenzie, Baron of Kintail ; the beam and 
bloody yoke for Hay, Earl of Errol ; the three cres- 
cents for Seton-Gordon, Marquis of Huntly, " cock o' 
the north ; " and the cinquefoil for the Lord Livings- 
ton. Bnt, whatever the exact references may be, 
there is no doubt that the writer is indebted for his 
figurative allusions to the days of heraldic display and 
pageantry, when armorial bearings displayed in the 
field on banner or shield were enough to proclaim the 
presence of more or less distinguished names. 

After the year 1296 the name de Boyvile disap- 
pears from the vicinity of Jedlmrgh, to reappear in 
the neighbourhood of Selkirk in 1315, as Turnbull or 
Tornebule, and well on in this century, after undergo- 
ing tliis transformation, it again comes to light in the 
records as established near Jedburgh, where the name 
of Turnbull has always been most numerous, becom- 
Turnbuu Anns. ing oue of the strougcst border 
clans of stark moss-troopers in 
Te^dotdale. They continued to 
use the })uir8 head cabossed as 
their armorial ensign, as in 1439 
John Turnbul, Bishop of Ross, 
and in 1451 William Turnbull, 
Bishop of Glasgow and founder 
of the University there, — both 

Argent, a bull'H head ca- 

bossed sable, armed Or. g^jjg gf Tcvlotdale families, — and 
Turnbull of Minto, Teviotdale, iu 1455, all bore a 
bull's head cabossed on their sliields. And then 




141 

some wealthy and pious one — or more probably a 
number of them, perhaps the whole clan, — contrib- 
utes to build and restore a part of Jedburgh Abbey 
about 1480, when the family shield bearing the bull's 
head cabossed was placed on a buttress to commem- 
orate their good work, as was the fashion of that 
time ; remaining there to tliis day as a memorial of 
the name, buttressing the church which their prede- 
cessor of the year 1293 defied so obdurately. And 
here I would note the colouring of their armorial 
shields, namely, a white shield with the bull's head 
cabossed sable ; so coloured in the oldest heraldic 
records, the Armorial de Berry, about 1450, giving 
tlu'ee bulls' heads cabossed, two and one sable, armed 
Or; and the spelling of the name as TournebouUe. 
These colours and those of the Fifeshire Boswells' 
arms are identical, although the figures are different, 
which will be seen when we come to consider them, 

I am aware of the popular story of the origin of 
the name TumbuU, but it is very doubtful if it was 
applied to any other than the Philliphaugh family in 
Selkirkshire, unless the whole clan changed their 
name by prefixing the syllable Turn, in the four- 
teenth century ; but the more likely way is that the 
first syllable would be floating among them for some 
time before it l)ecame fixed to the family name, and 
I am inclined to think it would originally be derived 
from a place-name. Perhaps the ancestor of the fam- 
ily who settled in Teviotdale in the twelfth century 
may have possessed lands called Turn, and his des- 



142 

cendants, as they multiplied toward the begiiming of 
the foni-teenth century, would be called Tum-Bouils, 
to distinguish them from their neighbours and kins- 
men, the Boyuills or Bosseuylls of the Merse, or per- 
haps for some more local reason. There is at least 
one place in Teviotdale called Torn or Turn ; and it 
was a common enough practice for a surname to be 
attached to a place-name by way of distinction. Just 
to mention one near Kelso, called Newton Don ; this 
was originally the Newtown, or Little Newton, and 
after coming into the possession of a family named 
Don it got the addition of this family name, or collo- 
quially the proprietor would be Newtondon. 

Before quitting this matter I would note that the 
common pronunciation, in Teviotdale, of the name 
Tunibull is Tramell, and these are much farther re- 
moved from one another than Bule is from Boiuil or 
de Boyvile, the original family name. Nisbet, the 
Scottish herald, in 1722, says the name of tliis family 
was Ruel originally, but he gives no authority for the 
statement. 

Sweet Teyot,*well do I remember the happy days 
of childhood on the banks of your clear stream, when 
I have bathed in thee, during summer's heat, and 
sported in the cold of winter on your frozen waters, 
and with childish awe beheld the rush of your torrents 
when in spate.! 



* Local. Teyot Teviot. tin sudden flood. 



148 

During the years immediately after l'29fi, William 
de Boseville, Burgess of Roxburgh, is frequently men- 
tioned, witnessing various documents and transacting 
affairs, down to April, 1345 ; his name often being 
written '" Bosseuyll," the earliest instance of this oc- 
curring about 1328, and about this time the prefix 
"de" begins to be omitted. The town referred to at 
this time was old Roxburgh, situated opposite Kelso, 
at the confluence of the Teviot and Tweed rivers ; it 
was one of the Four Boroughs, so distinguished 
through special privileges for trade and other mat- 
ters. Not a vestige of the old town now remains, al- 
though it was a populous, thriving place in the time 
of our namesake, with full burghal equipment. Our 
Burgess appears to have been an influential man, fig- 
uring in most of the important affairs of the borough 
of his time, as a Councillor, and afterwards as Alder- 
man or Mayor. His house was in one of the principal 
streets of the borough, called Market Street, and the 
scene of one of its special privileges, in the annual 
fair of St. James the Great, the patron saint of the 
borough, on whose festival day, July "i.^th, the fair 
opened, after due observance to St. James in the town 
church dedicated to Mm in April, 1134, where our 
Chief Burgess and his family doubtless worshipped ; 
thereafter the Alderman would officiate at the open- 
ing ceremonies, surrounded with all the quaint para- 
phernalia and dignity of the time, in this ancient Royal 
Burgh, which, although now luimbered with things 
that were, is still brought to remembrance by holding 



144 

the annual fair of St. James on the site of the ancient 
bnrgh. In conformity with his position as a man of 
substance, he had his own seal — an indispensable 
adjunct to a man of affairs in medieval Scotland. 
How I should have liked if an impression of his seal 
had come down to our time! About 1338, while he 
was Alderman, his wife, Isabella de Merlinton, gave 
one acre of land in Broxlawe, in the territory of New- 
ton, — the modern Newton Don, — to the canons of 
Dryburgh Abbey, out of piety for the health of her 
own soul, and of her husband, her ancestors and 
successors. From this we learn that they had a fam- 
ily ; and as one of the witnessing burgesses to docu- 
ments, in the town, is William de Bosevile, during 
the time our Alderman was in office, I am inclined to 
think we have a son of his also a Burgess of the town. 
Also contemporary with the Councillor, in the 
town, we find one Alexander de Bos, or Bosville, as 
his name is entered in the contracted and full forms, 
in the Exchequer Rolls, recording the escheat of his 
goods to the King, and the amount of eleven pounds 
and ten sliillings, as received therefor, by the Cham- 
berlain of Scotland, who presided in the court, held 
at Roxburgh, while on his yearly eyre, or circuit jour- 
ney, sometime between June, 1328, and December, 
1329, when he visited the Royal Burgh and market 
town, and held a court to try certain causes pertain- 
ing to burghal law. This contraction of the name is 
found occasionally after this, and we have seen a very 
early example of it about 1164, in the same district. 



145 

and we shall refer to other instances, occurring after 
a similar interval of time. In what relationship this 
Alexander stood to the Alderman we have no evidence, 
but it is interesting to find so many of the family 
on record, connected with this ancient burghal com- 
munity. 

The places called Newton and Broxlawe lie about 
two miles north from Kelso, close to the Eden Water. 
Newton was originally in the parish of Edenham or 
Ednam, and had a chapel subject to the mother 
church of St. Cuthbei-t of Ednam. About the mid- 
dle of the twelfth century, as already noticed, we have 
seen Pagani de Bosseuille gifting one bovate of land 
in this parish to the Abbey of Kelso ; and where we 
find, at a later date, the family name apparently pos- 
sessing lands in the same parish, as witness the pious 
donation of the Alderman's wife, in the gift of one 
acre of land lying here. And it also happens that, 
for upwards of three centuries after the date of Isa- 
bella's gift, lands lying in Newton were called Bos- 
well's lands, so named in 1598; and again called 
Boswal-lands in 1642, and described as extending to 
two carucates, or two hundred and eight acres. Tak- 
ing all the circumstances into consideration, so far as 
I have seen, this appears to have been the place where 
the name was first settled, north of the Tweed, early 
in the twelfth century. 

Now to notice the remaining one named in the 
Ragman Roll of 1296, William de Boseville, of the 
county of Berwick. There is no doubt this is the 



146 

same that we have seen in the rent-roll of Kelso Ab- 
bey in 1290, as occupying lands in the parish of 
Hume, to the north of Kelso, And we have seen Nis- 
bet, the herald, mention them there, in Oxmuir, be- 
tween 1214 and 1249. The Boswells must have been 
settled here very early, as they also left their name 
behind them attached to lands in the parish ; for by 
a retour of inquest, among the Earl of Home's MSS., 
dated 16th April, 1551, mention is made that the lands 
called Boswellands, in the town of Home, are held in 
chief of the Abbot and convent of Kelso, for service, 
and are valued at four pounds yearly. Then in 1605 
the same lands are described as lying in the eastern 
part of the to^vn of Hume, above Burrig, and extend- 
ing to a husbandland, or twenty-six acres. The name, 
as applied to these lands, appears to be quite forgot- 
ten locally, but the field called the Burrigs is still 
pointed out ; and from an examination of the ground 
this husbandland appears to lie to the north of it, and 
separated from Oxmuir, on the east, by the roadway. 
From these circumstances, probably, the husbandland 
would be the holding of a younger son of the family, 
unless it was a part of Oxmuir in their time. 

The town of Home, or Hume, is a quaint old sur- 
vival of a medieval village, and has been in a state of 
decay for many years ; the houses nestling along the 
slopes, with their ancient gardens stretching behind 
them, containing visible evidence of the cultivation of 
many past generations, who lived in the village, and 
now sleep in St. Nicholas' churchyard under the 



147 

shadow of the rebuilt fragments of the ancient castle 
of the Lords of Home, which reared its massive walls 
on a craggy eminence, above the village inhabited by 
their retainers, and from its elevation dominated the 
whole Merse, or March. 

Anciently the lands of Home belonged to the old 
Earls of Dunbar and March, the monks of Kelso ob- 
taining a large part of them in the twelfth century ; 
and about 1240 a descendant of a younger son of the 
Dunbar family, named William, acquired the barony 
of Home by marriage with his cousin, a daughter of 
the sixth Earl. He built the castle and was called 
Wilham of Home ; his descendants figuring in border 
affairs for many generations afterwards. 

This seeming digression may afterwards help us 
to understand the armorial bearings of the Boswells 
of Fifeshire, who are said to be sprung from this par- 
ticular branch, but there does not appear to be any 
proof of the fact, and all I can say is, a general state- 
ment has been current in our family that they origin- 
ally came from the south of Scotland to Fifeshire ; 
and their arms give colour to the conjecture that, 
while in the southern district, they were vassals of the 
old Earls of Dunbar and March. 

In this connection it is interesting to find a Wal- 
ter de Boseville, esquire, among the hundred and thirty 
Scots knights, esquires and others who were taken 
prisoners in the beginning of May, 1296, when the 
castle of Dunbar, which had been garrisoned by the 
Countess of Dunbar and March, was obliged to capit- 



148 

ulate to the besiegers through fortune of war. The 
prisoners were marched to Roxburgh or Marchmount* 
Castle, and sent off from thence, in detachments, to 
various castles in England ; two knights and four es- 
quires, of whom Walter was one, being sent to Not- 
tingham Castle, on May 16th of that year. He appears 
to have been kept in durance for a considerable time, 
as on November 23, 1298, the King orders the Sheriff 
of Nottingham to pay Michael Miggle and Walter de 
Boseville, esquires, Scottish prisoners in Nottingham 
Castle, three pence each, and their warder two pence, 
daily. Their fellow prisoners who were sent to this 
castle all appear to have been liberated before this 
time, which may be accounted for by a practice, in 
that age, of holding prisoners of war to ransom, and 
becoming part of the business of war, some captures 
proving a valuable reward for the risks of warfare. 
Walter does not appear to have been able to buy him- 
self out of prison, as we again meet with him at the 
end of September in 1299, when the same Sheriff" has 
a warrant for moneys paid to Walter de Bozeville, 
Michael de Miggle and Eoger le Clerk, esquires, Scot- 
tish prisoners; and Michael is fortunate in getting 
deliverance from prison, leaving Roger, who had been 
transferred from another castle, to keep Walter com- 
pany. How long after this he remained in prison, or 
if he sighed for a sight of the Merse land and his 



*This is written Marchmound, Marchmont or March- 
mount. 



149 

friends, does not appear by the hard, dry facts of 
record. 

In 1329, the Exchequer Rolls record a payment 
of thirteen pounds six shillings and eight pence, as 
paid to William de Boswill, at Scone, — an ancient 
seat of the Scottish court, adjacent to the city of 
Perth, — on behalf of Sir Alexander de Setoun, a 
landowner in Lothian and Berwickshire, and four 
years after this Governor of the town of Berwick. We 
can not localize this member of the family, but he 
apparently was a trusted agent of the representative 
of one of the foremost Norman families in Scotland ; 
and if he was not the Alderman of Roxburgh, or a 
son of his, most likely he would be a son of the Ox- 
muir or Hume family. 

About the middle of the fourteenth century, or 
after 1345, the name disappears from the southern 
district of Scotland. Perhaps in these troublous times 
their fortunes had waned, and in consequence they 
would not be in a position to be placed on record. 
But the name does not appear to have died out alto- 
gether, as one representer, called Robin Boswel, is 
found witnessing a document in the vernacular, at 
Melrose Abbey, on the 21st of September, 1535. And 
here we would note the parish called St. Boswells, 
next to Melrose, a comparatively modern appellation, 
dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
and named after St. Boisel, a seventh-century preacher 
here, but doubtless influenced by the surname in the 
district. Shortly before the middle of the fourteenth 



150 

eentui*y, when the name sinks out of sight in the 
Meree, or border district, it makes its first appear- 
ance on record in Fifeshire, and afterward the chief 
seat of the name. 

We have now reached the period when the name 
first appears as settled in Fifeshire. Before proceed- 
ing to sketch the history of the name there, which I 
hope to do at another time, I will collect a fragment 
or two here in reference to matters mentioned in pre- 
vious pages. 

At page 117 you give the names of six sea cap- 
tains as carrying settlers to the continent of America 
in the eighteenth century. The first three — Thomas 
Arnott, master of the Two Brothers; James Aber- 
erombie, commander of the Peggy, and John Ewing, 
captain of the Nancy — are all bearers of Scotch 
names found in Fifeshire. I have already referred to 
the continual intercourse between the east coast of 
Scotland and the opposite coasts of Germany, Hol- 
land, France, etc., and it is interesting to find Scotch 
sailors engaged in trading between the continent of 
Europe and the New World. The names Arnott and 
Abercrombie are taken from places so named in Fife- 
sliire, and I don't know if there may be any connec- 
tion between Captain Arnott's Two Brothers and 
Captain Boss' Three Brothers, mentioned by you at 
page 21 ; but, curiously enough, the Arnott family 
and the Bosswells in Fifeshire had intercourse with 
each other in centuries past, for they were neigh- 
bours. 



151 

A correspondent informs me that the name Boss 
has been settled for many generations in the county 
of Essex, England. Also the names Boseville, Boss- 
well and Boyce are found on record in that county at 
various times, from early in the twelfth century down- 
wards. And one of your correspondents conjectures 
the names Boss and Bass to be the same, as found in 
the adjoining county of Suffolk. Formerly these two 
names were spelled with a final e, as in the present- 
day place-name of Bosse Island, in the Cattegat, Den- 
mark. So far as I have seen, the name in England 
appears to have been chiefly settled in the eastern and 
southeastern counties, and probably in most cases is 
of Teutonic origin ; thus accounting for its being 
found spread over so great an area of western Europe, 
in Saxony, High Germany, as mentioned at page 106 ; 
and in the Netherlands, and tlie opposite coasts of 
England, where the Saxons at a very ..early period 
made settlements. 

Then at page 25 mention is made of a Captain 
John George Boss, R. N. ; and I am indebted to one 
of his descendants for a few details of his life. He 
was born at Beverly, Yorkshire, England, in 1785, of 
parents in very humble circumstances, and joined the 
Royal Navy when a lad. For his distinguished serv- 
ices he was promoted from time to time, becoming a 
Commander in 1811, and obtaining his Captain's com- 
mission in 1833. He served under Admiral Nelson, 
and took part in the battle of Trafalgar, on the 21st 
of October, 1805, where Nelson met his death on the 



152 

quarter-deck of the Victor if. The King also recog- 
nized Captain Boss' services by presenting him some 
pieces of gold plate. After the passing of the Reform 
Bill in 1832, the Captain was elected to Parliament 
Captain Boss" crest and motto, for Northallcrton, in his na- 
tive county. 

I have pleasure in sub- 
joining Captain Boss' crest — 
which, I believe, commemo- 
rates an important act of 
service done by him — and 
his motto : Every man ac- 




'Out of a naval coronet, an arm, 
in band a billet, all proper. 



CORDING TO HIS WORKS. 

It appears the name is 
found in Yorkshire frequently, but as to its origin 
there I have no information. Wliether derived from 
an early Saxon or Danish settler, or from the place 
called Bossall in that county, or whether it is the con- 
traction for Bosswell, is undecided. There has been 
a long line of the Boswell family in Yorkshire, from 
the twelfth century downwards, and the name there 
has undergone various changes in the spelling, the 
contraction being made use of in records, if not in 
actual living intercourse. 

I remain Yours faitlifully, 

Wm. Graham Boss. 



'^ 



153 



Henry R. Boss to William Graham Boss. 

Chicago, September 30, 1901. 
Mr, William Graham Boss. 

My Dear Sir : Over three years have now elapsed 
since this correspondence between us began. To me 
it has been a source of much pleasure. It has been 
extended far beyond any limits that either of us, prob- 
ably, anticipated. I deeply regret that I have been 
able to contribute so little on my side; but I rejoice 
that you have gathered so much. I have, however, 
labored under great difficulties, a portion of which — 
unnecessary to mention here — I could not anticipate. 
In addition to being a very busy man, — all my wak- 
ing hours being fully occupied with various affairs in 
addition to the everlasting bread-and-butter question 
and other cares, — I have for the greater part of the 
last half-century or more been absent from my birth- 
place and my native State, and hundreds of miles 
from the most likely sources of information, while the 
older members of my family — the conservators of the 
family traditions — have died and left no sign. Docu- 
mentary sources of information have been out of my 
reach, even if any such exist. 

The truth is, the pioneers in this country were too 
busy making history to be able to devote much time 
to the tvriting of it. Even when my father settled in 
the western part of the State of New York, which I 
think must have been about 1825-30, he was thought 



154 

to have gone beyond the bounds of civilization — to 
the then " Far West." Of postal facilities there were 
few and the rates of postage so nearly prohibitory that 
communications between families so separated were, 
like angels' visits, few and far between. Small won- 
der is it, then, that we have so few records from which 
to draw material for family histories ! 

Your theories regarding the origin of and the nu- 
merous changes in our family name seem to be fairly 
well supported by the facts you adduce. The meager 
records I have been able to find and the transcripts I 
have given therefrom would seem to indicate that like 
changes, tho not so numerous, have been going on in 
this country since the name was planted here. For 
instance, reference to the extracts from the Eegister 
of the Old Dutch Church at Kingston, N. Y., given on 
pages 56-64, shows the possibility, and even probabil- 
ity, of unlooked-for variations. The record of bap- 
tisms in the same church, referred to on page 65, dis- 
covers still worse^variations, some of the later recorded 
names running into Terbosch — a name which would 
hardly be suspected of any relationship to Boss. If 
you are correct in your supposition that the name 
may even have been connected with the armorial bear- 
ings of the Turnbull family, we need not be surprised 
at any other of the numerous variations that you have 
recorded. 

Dr. A. Hamilton, the well-known filologist and 
spelling-reformer, of Toronto, Ontario, Can., writes 
me as follows : 



155 

The name Boss does not occur in the Toronto Directory, 
but Bose, Bosco, Basco, Basso, Boyce, Boice. I know about 
nothing about it [the subject of our inquiry] myself. The 
two following facts may interest you : 

1. A few words have come into Amerncmi usage (as dis- 
tinct from British usage). They are such words as boss, span 
and some others due to Dutch influence via "New Amster- 
dam." Sjian, above, means pair or team of horses. 

2. When Peter the Great went incognito as a journeyman 
to work in Dutch shipyards, they called him " Peter bas," i. e., 
Master Peter. Probably he took on dominant attitudes and 
was of superior mental caliber. I gleaned this from Voltaire's 
Life of Charles XII (Histoire de Charles XII), which used to 
be a French reading-book in Ontario schools, in the fifties and 
sixties. 

The name Bass is perhaps the same as Boss, being pro- 
nounced as in German. 

It has been suggested that I give in this work the 
definitions of the term " boss " that are printed in our 
American dictionaries. Here are some of them : 

Century Dictionary: [A word derived from the Dutch 
settlers in New York. D. haas, master, foreman.] 1. A mas- 
ter. Specifically: (a) One who employs or superintends work- 
men; a head man, foreman or manager. (6) In U. S. politics, 
an influential politician who uses the machinery of a party for 
private ends or for the advantage of a ring or clique; a pro- 
fessional politician having paramount local influence. 2. The 
chief; the master; the champion; the best or leading person 
or thing. 

International Dictionary (Webster's) : D. haas, master. 
A master workman or superintendent; a director or manager; 
a political dictator. 

Standard Dictionary: D. haas, master. 1. A superin- 
tendent or employer of workmen; manager; foreman. 2. A 



156 

manager or dictator of a party organization, especially one who 
uses such leadership arbitrarily or for private or partizan pur- 
poses; the head of a "ring." 

It will be observed that all these authorities give 
the Dutch word haas as the original of the term. The 
Century Dictionary, however, goes into the etymology 
more fully, and shows how the word has had or may 
have had other significations than those given above. 
The following is interesting : 

Middle Dutch, baes, master of the house, also a friend; 
feminine, baesinne, mistress of the house, also a friend ; cognate 
with Flemish baes, parallel with Low German baas, master, 
foreman (derived from Danish bas, master), parallel with Old 
High German basa, and with Middle High German base, 
feminine, aunt, German base, feminine, cousin ( dialectically 
also aunt, niece), apparently ultimately identical with German 
wase, cognate with Low German tease, feminine, cousin, aunt. 
The word, in the masculine, seems to have meant " kinsman, 
cousin," and to have been used especially as referring to the 
master of the household, the chief " kinsman " in fact or by 
courtesy. 

There are numerous other definitions of the word 
given in the dictionaries, several of them of a tech- 
nical character, — as in architecture, bookbinding and 
other arts, — and others of an humorous kind. 

I have been endeavoring to learn at what time 
my great-uncle, Peter Boss, settled in Western New 
York, but, so far, without success. Mrs. Mary A. 
Avery (mother of Miss Marie Avery, a letter from 
whom is printed on page 20) writes me from Utica, 
N. Y., as follows : 



157 

As to the time when my great-grandfather, Peter Boss, 
settled in Chautauqua County, I have no knowledge; but it 
must have been considerably over one hundred years ago. 

It was in this Mohawk Valley that the Boss brothers set- 
tled, on lands deeded to them by the Indians. These lands 
were situated between the sites of Eome and Troy, N. Y. 
Grandmother Amy Boss Jackson has told me many a quaint 
story of their adventures and experiences. I greatly regret 
that I can not now recall any of them. 

A few days since, I was reading the proof of a 
mailing-list for an outside party, and came across 
the name of Dunn, Boss & Co., at Milton, Wis. I at 
once wrote " Mr. Boss," and have received the follow- 
ing interesting and highly satisfactory reply : 

MHiTON, Wis., September 25, 1901. 
Mr. Henry R. Boss, Chicago, HI. 

Dear Sir: While I was absent your letter came, and on 
my return it was not handed to me for several days; but I 
hope that what I have written will be of interest to you. I 
should judge that we come of the same stock. 

My great-great- great-grandfather came from Holland. 
He was a sea-captain, and on his first voyage to this country 
landed at Newport, R. I. He was so well pleased with the 
country that he soon made another trip hither, bringing with 
him two brothers, one of whom settled at Narragansett and 
the other in New York State. My ancestor, whose name was 
Edward, settled in Newport; our family are descended from 
this one. 

My great-grandfather married Eliza Liscom,* who was of 
Irish descent. They had two daughters — Betsy and Polly ; 



* In the list of "American Descendants of Edward Boss," 
furnisht by Mr. Robert P. Boss, of Boston, this name is given as 
Linscom. (See page 51.) H. R. B. 



158 

also five Bons. The sons were: Joseph, who was a baker; Ed- 
ward and Philip, who were both officers in the navy; John 
was president of one of the Newport banks ; and William, my 
grandfather Boss, who married Edith Dickinson Prior. My 
grandfather was born in 1763, his wife in 1773; they were 
married in 1793. They had fourteen children, as follows: 

Eliza Liscom, b. August 11, 1794. 

Christopher Prior, b. May 20, 1796. 

Marthy Dickinson, b. November 20, 1797. 

William Davis, b. April 10, 1799. 

Thomas Liscom, b. April 23, 1801. 

Sarah Prior, b. June 11, 1802. 

Eobert Prior, b. February 21, 1804. 

Charles Prior, b. August 28, 1805. 

John Henry, b. August 23, 1806. 

Abbie, b. April 19, 1808. 

Philip Martin, b. January 19, 1810. 

Charles Dickinson, b. March 12, 1812. 

Joseph, b. December 20, 1814. 

Katherin Gardner, b. March 10, 1816. 

Joseph Boss, my father, came from Newport, R. I., when 
a boy, and lived the rest of his life in Little Genesee, Allegany 
County, N. T. He was married, to Eliza Crandall December 
25, 1839; they had two children — Susan Mariah Boss, b. July 
7, 1842, and Martin Prior Boss, b. March 31, 1845. Susan M. 
married James Harry Ingraham, October 6, 1870, and they 
have made Providence, R. I., their home, where they run the 
Breezy Bluff House, a summer hotel ; they have two children — 
Fred Fadden Ingraham, b. September 10, 1873, and Louis 
Harry Ingraham, b. May 8, 1879. Martin Prior Boss married 
Laura S. Gallagher, July 25, 1870; she died July 24, 1888. 
They had three children — Helen Winsmore Boss, b. June 10, 
1874; Laura Boss, b. April 27, 1876 (and died in infancy), 
and Ira Crane Boss, b. December 3, 1877. Martin P. Boss 
has followed mining engineering, and is now President of the 
American Bank of the City of Mexico. 



159 

Eliza Crandall Boss died April 8, 1847. On August 17, 
1848, my father was again married, this time to Eliza Wheeler. 
There was one child by this marriage — Frank Boss, b. No- 
vember 5, 1852, and died June 29, 1887. 

Eliza Wheeler Boss died February 7, 1857. My father 
then married my mother, Aurilla F. Eogers, May 3, 1858, who 
died at Milton, Wis., January 31, 1883. By this union there 
were three children — May Eliza Boss, b. April 27, 1859 (on 
November 28, 1888, she married John Cunningham, a lawyer 
of Janesville, Wis., and they have two children — George Rog- 
ers Cunningham and Robert John Cunningham); Mark Boss, 
b. March 25, 1862, died April 1, 1863; and George Rogers 
Boss, the writer, b. June 18, 1862. 

I married Mrs. Stella Loofboro Ferine, January 13, 1889. 
We have three children — Lela Aurilla, b. August 27, 1890; 
Joseph Kenneth, b. March 29, 1896; Malcolm Loofboro, b. 
June 16, 1900. I have been in the general merchandise busi- 
ness at Milton for eighteen years. 

If there is anything more that I can tell you, I would be 
pleased to do so. Yours very truly, Geo. R. Boss. 

Mr. Boss is clearly entitled to be classed among 
the American descendants of Edward Boss, and there- 
fore can trace his lineage directly to the founder of 
one branch of the family in this country. 

Taking my cue from the letter of Mr. Charles F. 
Boss, given elsewhere, I wrote to Mr. C. S. Boss, the 
Postmaster at Bossburg, Wash., and received the fol- 
lowing in reply : 

I am miich pleased to know that one of the Boss family 
is looking up our ancestors. 

My father's name was Truman. He had three brothers — 
George, Randle and Chester (my name). They originated in 
New York; that is, my father and mother came from New York 



160 

State. I know very little about the Bosses, as I was born in 
Michigan, near Jonesville. Then father moved to Wisconsin 
when I was three years old, and to Minnesota when I was 
eleven. I enlisted, when eighteen, in 1862, and served three 
years in the Sixth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. This town 
or postoffice I named in 1891. 

Mr. Sidney Smith, of Boston, Mass., — who, like 
myself, was born at Forestville, N. Y., — sends me 
the only authentic information I have been able to 
obtain concerning the Masonic affiliations of my rela- 
tives, as follows : 

Hanover Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons instituted 
at Forestville, 1824. Charter members and first officers: Lu- 
ther Thwing, Ezra Puffer, Seth Snow, Albert H. Camp, Wal- 
ter Griswold, Richard Smith, Ephraim Judson, William Jones, 
Elijah Robinson. Discontinued 1828. 

December, 1849, this Lodge was rechartered. The fii'st 
officers were: Albert H. Camp, Daniel B. Parsons, William 
Colville, Rodney B. Smith, Isaac Boss, Marshall Cass, Charles 
Brown and Elisha Robinson. Isaac Boss was Secretary. 

Isaac Boss, mentioned above, was a son of Peter 
Boss and a cousin of my father. 

A newspaper excerpt sent me records the death, 
on July 31 last, at Berlin, Prussia, of Dr. Julius Eob- 
ert Bosse, former Prussian Minister of Public Instruc- 
tion, at the age of sixty-nine years. It is not probable 
that Dr. Bosse's family had any connection with your 
family or mine, at least for many generations ; but 
Ms life and death may well be mentioned here, if only 
for the similarity in names. His career was a distin- 
guisht one. 



161 

Mr. Charles F. Boss, of Washington, D. C, has 
favored me with the following letter. While he in- 
dulges somewhat in theories and speculations, he at 
the same time furnishes many facts of interest and 
adds to the evidence in favor of the early settlement 
of the Boss family (or families) in this country and 
of the extent to which the family name has spread : 

1316 Florida Avenue N, E., 
Washington, D. C, August 31, 1901. 
Mr. Henry R. Boss, Chicago, El. 

Dear Sir: I am very glad that you have undertaken to 
gather the history of the Boss family, and have been greatly 
interested in reading the proofsheets you have sent me of the 
work as far as completed. 

I have considerable information in relation to oiar family 
that I have gathered from books in the Congressional Library, 
and will endeavor to add to what you already have. The tra- 
dition that you speak of — relative to the "three brothers, 
navigators," — is the same that has been given to me. I find 
records of Peter Boss as early as 1680; at that time he com- 
manded the ship Three Brothers. I find the family in colo- 
nial days in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsyl- 
vania and Maryland, but have not found them in Virginia 
until my own family went there, about 1800. Many members 
of the family were soldiers in the Revolution. 

The Name. 

In olden times, before the use of family names, as you 
know, it was the custom to call a man by his trade or business. 
John the smith became John Smith; Thomas the coppersmith 
became Thomas Coppersmith; Wilham the carpenter became 
WilMam Carpenter; and so one could go on indefinitely. In 
thinking of this matter of our family name, it has always been 



162 



my belief, in view of the tradition in regard to our ancestors 
having followed the sea, that one or more generations of them 
were ship captains or masters, or, as the Dutch would say, 
Baas or Boss. Perhaps one of them performed some especially 
valiant deed; and it does not require a great stretch of my 
imagination to see him standing before the King and hear the 
latter say to him, " You have been my faithful servant. As a 
reward, you and yours shall be known as Baas. Arise, Sir 
Peter." And from that time he would be known as Peter 
Boss. 

The Traditions. 

One tradition I have heard is that three brothers came to 
this country from Holland, in the ship Three Brothers, and 
that they were the ancestors of all in this country bearing the 
name Boss. The little information I have gathered disproves 
the latter part of the assertion, as many of the name have ar- 
rived at various times and places. As to the first part of the 
tradition, it seems to me probable that Peter Boss, commander 
of the ship Three Brothers, was the only one of the name who 
came over in that vessel. One can perceive how easy it would 
be for a man to say to his son, " My grandfather came here in 
the ship Tliree Brothers; " and in after years the son might 
say to his son, " My great-grandfather came to this country 
with his three brothers." This, I think, is possible. We find 
mention of but one more at this time (1680). In 1690 we 
find Peter Boss as the author of a book giving an account of a 
trial in Philadelphia, Pa. ; and in the first half of the next 
century the family is found in Rhode Island. As Peter had 
trouble with the Quakers in Philadelphia, what is more prob- 
able than that he left Philadelphia and went to Rhode Island, 
where Roger Williams had established a more liberal govern- 
ment so far as religion was concerned ? 

Another tradition is to the effect that my great-great- 
grandfather received a letter from the old country telling him 
of a legacy left him there, and that he promptly tore up the 



163 

the letter, saying, " I do not want my children to inherit any 
money. I want them to work for their living." 

GeBMANT vs. HoLIiAND. 

I was much surprised to read the letter of my great-uncle 
Samuel M. Boss, on page 19 of your work, especially where 
he says, " I do not think we are related, as my family came 
from Germany and yours from Holland." While it is true the 
older generation should be better informed than the yoimger, 
it is possible that the former may have been mistaken; for in 
nothing that I have read concerning this matter do I find any 
mention of Germany, save a note of the arrival of a ship from 
Hamburg. Even this one exception may have arisen from the 
fact that Hamburg was the last European port the vessel 
stopped at before sailing to America. 

I think the term " Dutchman " is confusing and mislead- 
ing. In our loose manner of speech we apply it to Germans 
as well as to Hollanders. It is possible my great-vmcle had 
an aversion to being called Holland Dutch, or Low Dutch, as 
it is sometimes termed even now. I find some people who 
say, when questioned, "Oh, no, I am not Dutch; I am Ger- 
man. Where I came from there are no Dutch." 

I shall continue to believe that the family is of Dutch ori- 
gin until I find some better proof to the contrary. 

In the Abmy and Navy. 

The Official Register of Officers and Men of New Jersey 
in the Revolution, by Stryker, gives the following : 

Abram Boss, private, Hunterdon County Militia, Revolu- 
tionary War. 

Joseph Boss, private, State troops, Revolutionary War. 

From Records of Connecticut Men in the Revolution and 
War of 1812, issued from the Adjutant-General's Office, 1889: 

Gideon W. Boss, private, Connecticut Militia. Period of 
service, August 13, 1813, to September 16, 1813. 



164 

From the " Civil and Military List of Rhode Island, 1647- 
1800," compiled from the records by Joseph Jenks Smith, and 
published at Providence, in 1900, by Preston & Rounds Co.: 

Peter Boss, Ensign, Third North Kingstown Company, 
Militia of Newport County, May, 1731, and again in May of 
the succeeding year. 

Captain Caleb Boss, Sealer of Duck, May, 1732, (The 
author does not explain the meaning of " sealer of duck," but 
I imagine the Captain was an inspector of canvas or duck, and 
stamped it to show its quality. ) 

WilUam Boss, Ensign, Westerly County Company, 1732* 

June, 1758, John Boss was Chaplain and Surgeon's Mate, 
and on a subsequent page John Boss is named as Captain of 
the Third Company, West Greenwich. 

Joseph Boss, Ensign, First Regiment, Newport County 
Fourth Company, June, 1785» On a subsequent page he is 
mentioned as Captain of this company, and in June, 1794, he 
is still holding the title .» 

Peter Boss, Lieutenant, Charlestown, August, 1774. 

Benjamin Boss Jr., First Lieutenant, Scituate Light Infan- 
try; afterward Captain of Scituate Hunters, February, 1791» 
to May, 1794. 

Joseph Boss Jr., Captain Fourth Company of Newpor* 
and Bristol Brigade, May, 1792, to 1797, 

Joseph Boss Jr., Ensign, 1796; also. May, 1797, Artil- 
lery of Newport. [The difference in rank would indicate that 
these were two different men.] 

Joseph Boss Jr., Second Major, February, 1798, to June, 
1799, First Regiment Newport County, 

From "New York in the Revolution, and Colony and 
State," records arranged by James A. Roberts, Comptroller, I 
get the following: 

Jeremiah Boss, private. Van Rensselaer Regiment, Niles 
Company, New York State. 



165 

Heinrich Boss, Tryon County Associated Exempts. 
Joseph Boss, private. First Regiment. 
William Boss, Duchess County Militia (Land Bounty 
Rights). 

From Archives of Maryland, Muster Rolls and other rec- 
ords of service of Maryland troops in the Revolutionary War, 
published by authority of the State under the direction of the 
Maryland Historical Society, 1900, I get the following: 

October 13, 1781, the following received from Robert 
Denny such sums as were due them : 

Christian Boss, and others, enlisted Fifth Regiment Ma- 
ryland, August 23, 1781, for period of war; was in the service 
November, 1783. 

From " Citizen Soldiers Who Served at Battle of North 
Point and Fort McHenry, September 12 and 13, 1814," pub- 
Hshed by N. HJickman, Baltimore, 1858 : 

George Boss, private, Eagle ArtUlery; George J. Brown, 
Captain. 

John Boss, private, Sixth Regiment Maryland Militia; 
Thomas Shepard, Captain. 

From Hammersly's Army and Navy Register: 

Hiram Boss, of Massachusetts, cadet in Military Acad- 
emy, 1818. 

Edward Boss appointed Lieutenant in the Navy, June 
27, 1799. 

Joseph Boss appointed Midshipman March 2, 1799. 

From " Census of Pensioners," published by the United 
States Government: 

Ben Boss, born in 1757, living in Rhode Island, 1840, 
aged 83. 

Sarah Boss, born 1758, living in Newport County, R. I., 
1840, aged 82. 

James Boss, living with Jane Boss, in Dinwiddle County, 
Va., 1840; bom 1760; aged 80. 



166 

In the Historical Register of the Officers of the Continen- 
tal Army, War of the Revolution, April, 1775-December, 1883, 
by F. B. Heitman, published in Washington in 1893, is the 
following record of one George Boss, " also called Bush," of 
Pennsylvania : 

Captain of Hartley's additional regiment January 13, 
1777; regiment designated Eleventh Pennsylvania December 
17, 1777; transferred to Sixth Pennsylvania January 17, 1781; 
transferred to Third Pennsylvania January, 1783, and served 
to close of war. 

From the War Department I have the record of another 
George Boss from Pennsylvania, as follows : 

George Boss served as an Ensign, Adjutant and Lieuten- 
ant in the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, Revolutionary War. 
He was cormnissioned Ensign June 2, 1778; his name is borne 
with rank of Lieutenant on a Ust dated August 17, 1780, in a 
book compiled from the records of the organization mentioned, 
under the head of " State of Pennsylvania against the United 
States for Depreciation of Pay of the Army." 

The "Archives of Pennsylvania " give the name of Daniel 
C. Boss of Allegheny County, Pa., private Pennsylvania Mili- 
tia; pensioner May 13, 1820; died June 7, 1828. 

The following is my grandfather's war record, as obtained 
from the War Department: It is shown by the records that 
one Abraham Boss served as a private in Captain Martin Kitz- 
miUer's company, Fifty-seventh Regiment (masons and miners) 
Virginia Militia, in the service at Baltimore, War of 1812. His 
name appears on the records of that organization, covering the 
period from August 23 to September 23, 1814, with remarks: 
"Commencement of service, August 23, 1814; expiration of 
service, September 16, 1814; term of service, 26 days." As the 
British entered Washington on August 24th, it is evident that 
my grandfather came to the defense of this city; and when the 
Americans were routed he and his company went to Baltimore, 



167 

Md., and were engaged in the battle of North Point and the 
bombardment of Fort McHenry. 

In PennsyiiVania. 

From the " Archives of Pennsylvania " I glean the fol- 
lowing : 

Thomas Boss, freeman, Chester County, Pa., 1779. 

Adam Boss, freeman, Lancaster County, Pa., 1779. 

Jacob Boss, Lancaster County, 1782, 2 cattle, tax 18s. 9d. 

John and James Boss each had 400 acres surveyed in 
Northumberland County, Pa., March 15, 1794. 

John and Michael Boss were residents of Chester County, 
1766-67. 

Mathias Boss owned 159 acres, 3 horses, 5 cattle, in Co- 
dorus Township, York County, 1781; tax, £2.10.6. 

John Boss owned 150 acres in York County, 1780. 

Joseph Boss, resident of Philadelphia, 1782. 

Nicholas Boss, in Mahauoy Township, Northumberland 
County, in 1782 owned 50 acres, 2 horses, 2 cattle, 2 sheep; 
tax, £2.10.5. In 1783 he owned 100 acres, 1 horse, 1 cattle; 
tax, £7.9. 

Friedrich Boss married Wilhelmina Weber, in the German 
Reformed Church, Philadelphia, July 19, 1794. 

Miscellaneous Items. 

In looking through the Postoffice Department Bluebook 
for 1897, I find Charlotte K. Boss Postmistress at Boss, Logan 
Coimty, Ark., and Frank H. Boss Postmaster at Bossdale, Jef- 
ferson County, Ky. ; both of these offices have since been dis- 
continued. I also find C. S. Boss as Postmaster at Bossburg, 
Stevens County, "Washington. There are a number of people 
named Boss in the postal service, in different sections of the 
country, as postmasters, mail messengers, clerks, letter-car- 
riers, etc. 

There is a colored man in this city who goes by the name 
Charles Boss. There is no doubt but that, if one could trace 



168 

his family back, it would be found that they were slaves owned 
by someone of our family name in the South. 

In the Congressional Library, in this city, are two copies 
of a book written by Peter Boss, previously referred to in this 
letter. The title-page of one of them is as follows : 

NEW England's spibit of pebseoution 

Transmited to 

PENNSII.VANIA 

And the pretended Quaker found persecuting the true 

CHRISTIAN QUAKER 

In the 

T R Y A L 

OP 

Peter Boss, George Keith, Thomas Bndd 
and William Bradford 

At the sessions held at Philadelphia the Ninetli, Tenth and 

Twelth Days of December, 1692, giving an account 

of the most Arbitrary Procedure of that Court. 

Printed in the Year 1693. 

The title-page of the other copy reads nearly like the 
above, is described as " Licensed," is dated " Octob 19 1693," 
and at the foot is the following : 

Printed first beyond-Sea and now reprinted in London for 
Richard Baldwin in Warwick Lane 1693. 

From the Civil and MUitary List of Rhode Island, previ- 
ously cited: 

Peter Boss ajjpointed Justice of the Peace, at Westerly, 
R. I., May, 1735. Also same name and title at Warwick, 1736; 
North Kingstown, May, 1738; South Kingstown, May, 1746. 

John Boss, Justice of the Peace, West Greenwich, June, 
1767. 

John L. Boss, one of a Committee on the State of Ferry 

Wharves, May, 1799. 

From " Colonial History of New York : " 

Jacob Boss and others were naturalized at New York in 
1734, by act of Assembly. [This was requisite to make good 
the titles to lands bought by the EngUsh from the Dutch.] 



169 

In a work entitled " Painters, Sculptors, Architects and 
Engravers," by Clara Erskine Clement, published by James 
K. Osgood & Co., I find the following: 

Abraham Bosse, bom at Tours, 1610. He wrote a treat- 
ise called " La Manier de graver k L'eau forte et au Burin." 
He left a good number of plates, principally from his own de- 
signs. They are bold and masterly, etched with unusual spirit 
and freedom. 

Yours respectfully, Chakles F. Boss. 

Hon. Fernando Jones, of this city, who was born 
at Forestville, N. Y., eighty-one years ago, called on 
me recently. Mr. Jones is a remarkably well-pre- 
served man, being as active, bodily and mentally, as 
most men of half his years. He informed me that 
three families of the Joneses — not related in any way 
to one another — settled in or about Forestville about 
the same time ; but he did not tell me when. They 
were all from Connecticut. As a daughter of one of 
the Joneses, Elizabeth, married Peter F. Boss, son of 
my great-uncle (see page 33), one may readily guess 
that the families were acquainted before they settled 
in Western New York, and even that Uncle Peter Boss 
emigrated from Connecticut. Should this guess — 
and it is only a guess — be correct, it would connect 
my forebears with the New England branches of the 
family. 

November 28, 1901. 
I have been so long in getting this letter in type 
that I shall have to begin with a new date. The de- 
lay, however, is compensated for by the additional 



170 

information that I have obtained, some of which has 
been incorporated in the pages preceding. 

Mr. Charles F. Boss — who is very enthusiastic 
in gathering information concerning members of the 
Boss family — has placed me under additional obliga- 
tions by furnishing me with copies of the following 
letters, received by him : 

United States Post Office, 
Fleminqton, N. J., October 21, 1901. 
Mr. Charles F. Boss. 

Dear Sir: Your letter came duly to hand. In reply will 
say my father came from Ringos, N. J. His father's name was 
Peter Boss, and he had a brother William. I always under- 
stood we were of German descent. My father had three broth- 
ers and two sisters — Joseph P. Boss, Henry Boss, John Boss, 
David B. Boss, Joannah Boss. and Rebecca Boss; all are now 
deceased. I am sorry I do not know more about my people; 
but we were poor and had to work for a living, and did not 
pay much attention even to our own people, except to make a 
living. 

I have a brother who lives at Fairview, 111., who is older 
than I am, and I think he would remember more than I can. 
Yours truly, A. W. Boss, P. M. 

Stephens City, Va., October 28, 1901. 
Mr. Charles F. Boss. 

Dear Sir: My wife (who was Sarah F. Boss) received a 
letter from you, dated October 15th, asking for information 
of the Boss family. She gave it to me to answer, and I have 
been looking up old papers to see what I could find. I had a 
clipping from a Baltimore paper giving an account of George 
Boss, who was one of the Old Defenders, who met in Baltimore 
once a year; I loaned it to Mrs. Johnson in Leesburg, and it 
was lost. George Boss was an uncle of my wife's father, S. M. 



171 

Boss, so my wife thinks; her father was born in York, Pa., 
April 3, 1797; his parents moved to Leesburg when he was 
about six months old; he died in Leesburg August 24, 1872. 
He married Miss Elizabeth Fox, of Leesburg, b. February 9, 
1802, d. June 30, 1874. Their chUdren were: 

Mary Rebecca, b. October 10, 1820, living; m. Charles A. 
Johnson, dead. 

Gamaliel Fox, b. December 31, 1822, d. when a boy. 

Margaret Ann, b. October 22, 1824, dead; m. William 
Cline, dead. 

Martena Kilgore, b. August 17, 1828, dead; m. Edmond 
Benedum, living. 

Lydia Gibson, b. September 17, 1828, dead; m. Benjamin 
Franklin Hough, dead. 

Sarah Foley, b. March 10, 1830, Hving; m. Thomas WiU" 
iam McArtor (writer of this letter), living. 

Caroline Eliza, b, April 25, 1832; d. unmarried. 

Elizabeth Jane, b. October 4, 1834, dead; m. Samuel N. 
Hirst, unknown. 

Virginia Alexander, b. February 7, 1838, living ; m. John 
M. GaUeher, dead. 

Juha Wilson, b. August 15, 1840, living; m. Silas W. 
Wright, d. July 8, 1896. 

James Peter, b. April 10, 1843, unmarried; killed in battle 
at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. 

I can not give you the dates of the deaths of the above, 
as the family record was burned in the house of J. Dennis 
Dunn, near Alexandria, Va., about three years ago. He mar- 
ried Mabel C. Wright, a daughter of Julia W. (Boss) Wright. 

Grandfather Peter Boss moved from York, Pa., to Lees- 
burg, Va., in 1797. He was a baker; dates of birth and death 
unknown to me. His wife's name was Rebecca; dates unknown. 
They were both buried in the old stone M. E. church yard in 
Leesburg; no tombstones. 

In the Genius of Liberty, pubUshed at Leesburg, under 
date of July 24, 1829, appeared this notice: "At the County 



172 

Court of Loudon, held June 12, 1829, Lydia Boss, John Ean- 
dolph Boss, Peter Gibson Boss, Lydia Louisa Boss, Margaret 
Eliza Boss and EHzabeth Fox Boss, plaintiffs," in a suit versus 
Samuel M. Boss and Peter Boss, and it was stated that Peter 
Boss was not an inhabitant of this country. Neither my wife 
nor her sister, Mrs. Julia W. Wright, knows anything about 
the above-named persons, some of whose names are very simi- 
lar to S. M. Boss' family names. 

In the American Mamifacturer dated June 19, 1841, 
published at Pittsburg, Pa., mention is made of Daniel 0. Boss, 
a member of the Pittsburg Blues, wounded in battle at Fort 
Meigs, May 5, 1813. 

I was in Mechanicsburg, Pa., about twelve years ago, and 
saw the name Boss over the door of a photographer. I went 
in and had a long talk with him. I, as well as he, was con- 
vinced that he belonged to the same family. He was much 
like S. M. Boss in his quick movements. I do not remember 
his given name. EespectfuUy yours, 

T. W. McAktor. 

I have received the following interesting letter 
from Mr. Homer B. Boss, of Binghamton, situated in 
southern central New York. It was written at the 
instance of my only surviving brother, my younger 
brother having died in infancy, a few days previous 
to the death of my father : 

Binghamton, N. Y., November 10, 1900. 
Mr. Henry R. Boss. 

My Dear Sir: I received a letter, a few days ago, from 
William E. Boss, Bath, N. Y., requesting my aid in helping to 
get statistics of the Boss family. I fortunately have a record 
back as far as my great-grandfather, which I gladly furnish 
you. It is as foUows: 

Phihp Boss, b. January 29, 1743, d. March 10, 1807; m. 



173 

Dorcas James, b. May 16, 1746, d. February 16, 1825. I have 
no knowledge of brothers or sisters. 

Children of above : 

John Boss, b. October 15, 1770, d. March 8, 1836; m. 
Elizabeth Stanton, b. June 2, 1771, d. December 17, 1824. I 
have no knowledge of brothers or sisters. 

Children of above: 

Philip Boss, b. February 14, 1795; d. April 30, 1879. 

Electa Boss, b. September 29, 1797; d. March 24, 1879. 

Ela W. Boss, b. June 11, 1800; d. December 15, 1882. 

John Boss Jr., b. August 14, 1802; d. September 2, 1855. 

Benjamin B. Boss, b. April 30, 1805; d. December 8, 1826. 

Eason Boss, b. September 8, 1807; d. December 5, 1851. 

Alfred Boss, b. April 29, 1810; d. November 4, 1864. 

Bradley Boss, b. June 14, 1812; now living at Kennedy, 
Chautauqua County, N. Y. 

Wniiam H, Boss, b. June 12, 1814; d. October 21, 1834. 

Eliza V. Boss, b. November 6, 1818; d. August 15, 1891. 

Children of Ela W. Boss, whose wife was Louisa Butler, 
b. February 23, 1802; d. February 3, 1895: 

Almira Eliz. Boss, b. August 11, 1822; d. October 19, 
1823. 

Sally Jane Boss, b. June 8, 1824; d. August 25, 1857. 

Henry W. Boss, b. August 16, 1827; now living at Bing- 
hamton, N. Y. 

Helen M. Boss, b. January 1, 1832; now Mrs. Holladay, 
living at Fabius, N. Y. 

John Boss, b. March 14, 1834; d. March 7, 1835. 

Homer B. Boss, b. February 14, 1836; now living at 
Binghamton, N. Y. 

Louisa M. Boss, b. June 10, 1838; now Mrs. Larrabee, 
hving at Binghamton, N. Y. 

Francis E. Boss, b. September 11, 1840; d. September 
18, 1846. 

Morris E. Boss, b. April 8, 1843; d. June 14, 1900. 



174 

Charles W. Boss, b. April 7, 1845; now living at Bing- 
hamton, N. Y. 

The only male child living of above family (the children 
of Ela W. Boss) is Harry W. Boss, son of Charles W. Boss, 
born, I think, in 1869. 

I have reason to believe your great-grandfather, William 
Boss, and my great-grandfather might have been brothers. My 
father was born in Herkimer County, this State, in 1800. He 
lived in Orleans County in 1825. We are all, no doubt, from 
the same ancestors. There are a few Bosses in New York City ; 
one or two in Buffalo. We — my brothers and sisters — are 
all there are in this part of the country. There is a family in 
Providence, E. I., one of whom has been here; they manufac- 
ture the "Boss Axle Washer." 

Yours very truly, Homek B. Boss. 

Your fotograf came duly to hand, and I have had 
it reproduced in halftone for publication in this work. 
It has a decided " Boss look " about it ; indeed, when 
I handed it to my wife for her inspection, she at once 
said, "Why, that looks like the Bosses." There is 
something about your face, especially the upper part 
of it, which calls up a mental composit picture of our 
family ; that is, a curve here reminds of one member, 
while another curve there recalls a vision of another 
member. Not that all the Bosses we know look alike ; 
quite the contrary. Some have had full, round faces ; 
some have been square- jawed, while others have been 
very spare in feature. But there is an undefinable 
something about a number of the members of the 
family which marks them as belonging to the same 
race. Possibly, if we had accurate fotografs of repre- 
sentatives of the various generations existing from 



175 

the time of the adoption of the surname, we might be 
able to trace a family Kkeness thru all of them, even 
the it be true, as the ethnologists tell us, that climatic 
and other influences make great changes in racial 
characteristics. 

I have been surprised, while making researches 
concerning the Boss Family, to learn how numerous 
are the bearers of the name and how widely they are 
spread in the various States of the Union. One can 
hardly look in the directory of an important town in 
the country without finding recorded there the names 
of a greater or less number of the Bosses. Our sur- 
prise is diminished, however, when we observe the 
large families which some of our name have been the 
progenitors of. The few lists which I have given in 
this work show much more than the average number 
of children in a family. If this volume meets with 
the reception that I think it deserves, so that I may 
be enabled to get out one or more additional volumes, 
I hope to include in it or them many more like lists. 

The christian names in the lists above referred to 
fail to show any markt similarity among those in the 
different branches of the family in this country ; but 
that does not necessarily indicate lack of relationship 
between them. The "good old Scotch custom" that 
you refer to on page 23 has had little vogue in this 
country. In many cases that have come under my 
observation names have been conferred upon children 
in honor of friends of the family, or of distinguisht 
individuals, rather than members of their own fami- 



176 

lies. As an illustration of the differences in christian 
names, see the lists of children of my grandfather 
and my great-uncle and those given by Mr. George 
E. Boss, of Milton, Wis., and Mr. Homer B. Boss, of 
Binghamton, N. Y. 

Miss Jennie H. Boss, of Forestville, N. Y., writes 
me concerning the children of her great-grandfather, 
Peter Boss, and gives me the following list of them. 
I do not tliink this list is as reliable as that given on 
pages 33 and 34, for it makes no mention of Maria 
(Boss) Willoughby, whom I knew when I was a very 
young boy. The addition of the name of William 
Boss is undoubtedly correct : 

Elijah [Eliza?] Boss, b. March 28, 1791. 
Polly Boss, b. June 11, 1794. 
Isaac Boss, b. September 4, 1797. 
Ebenezer Boss, b. November 7, 1799. 
Amy Boss, b. January 20, 1802. 
Peter F. Boss, b. July 4, 1804. 

George W. Boss, b. July 4, 1806; m. Maryette Green, b. 
June 31, 1813. 

Alvin Boss, b. May 20, 1808. 

William Boss, b. January 4, 1811; d. when young. 

Children of George W. and Maryette Boss : 

Marjorie Boss, b. February 22, 1834; now Mrs. Merritt 
Stillson, Irving, Mich. 

Ann Boss, b. June 5, 1836. 

Edgar Boss, b. August 5, 1839; m. Hester Snow, b. Au- 
gust 17, 1839. 

Margaret Boss, b. December 3, 1842. 

Hattie Boss, b. April 12, 1845; now Mrs. Hattie Town, 
Hamlet, N. Y. 



177 

Mariah Boss, b. July 23, 1847. 
EUzabeth Boss, b. May 7, 1849. 

G. Emery Boss, b. June 23, 1856; d. when he was abou 
five years old. 

Children of Edgar and Hester Boss : 
Arthur S. Boss, b. April 17, 1861. 
George S. Boss, b. June 15, 1863. 
Carrie Boss Dennison, b. August 24, 1866. 
Samuel Boss, b. November 16, 1869. 
Mary Boss Tenny, b. April 16, 1874, 
Jennie H. Boss, b, December 10, 1878. 

In sending me a fotograf of the late Samuel M. 
Boss, reproduced in this book, Mr. T. W. McArtor 
writes from Stephens City, Va., as follows : 

I will give you an account of how I came to have his 
foto. The family had often tried to get him to have it taken, 
but he never had time or patience to sit still that long, so I 
went to a fotograf er (who was a new beginner at the busi- 
ness), and told him to have everything ready and I would get 
Mr. Boss to come in. After a good deal of persuasion I got 
him there, and when the artist saw the picture he said it was 
not very good and he would take another. After Mr. B. had 
gone home I told the artist not to destroy this one until we 
got another; but I never could get him to go again, and this 
is the only picture of him that was ever taken. Do not take 
the dark spot on the chin for a goatee; he never wore a beard 
or a mustache. 

Samuel M. Boss was the quickest man, in all his move- 
ments, you ever saw, and his children inherit this trait. My 
wife, who will be seventy-two next 10th of March, walks off as 
briskly as a young girl. 

A few years ago I was in Mechanicsburg, Pa. I saw the 
name Boss over a foto gallery. I went in and talked with the 
artist. I knew from his quick movements that he was a Boss. 



178 

He had a relative named Peter; it seems to be a family name. 
In appearance this Mechanicsburg man favors you, to the best 
of my recollection of him; it has been about thirteen years 
since I saw him. 

Tho I have strenuously endeavored to keep this 
book free from typografical errors, I find that two 
have crept in. On page 46, first line of last paragraf, 
"Poece" appears for"Boece." On page 66, under 
** South Kingstown, K. I.," the first date given should 
be 1745 instead of 1845. Possibly there are other 
errors ; but I have not been able to find them. 

As I am concluding this letter I am learning of 
several sources from which I hope, sometime, to get 
information of much value and interest. If my pecu- 
niary circumstances would permit I would extend 
this volume considerably beyond its present limits. I 
am compelled, however, to close up with this letter, 
hoping that what is here printed may awaken a wider 
and deeper interest in the matter, so that, in the near 
future, I may be enabled to extend the work to two or 
more volumes, and thus preserve an authentic and 
nearly complete record of the Boss Family. 

The portraits given herewith will give opportunity 
for comparison and study. I tried to obtain more of 
them, but was unable to do so. 

Trusting that our labors are not yet completed, 
and that life and health may be spared for us to do 
much more in this direction, I am 

Yours very truly, Henry K. Boss. 



INDEX. 



Absolving the Bxcommunlcants 133 

Albany County, N. Y., Genealogies 109 

Allegiance, Oatli of U6, 117 

"American Ancestry" 21 

American Descendants of Edward Boss 157, 159 

Armorial Bearings 

17, 28, 74, 75, 77, 104, 105, 134, 135, 136, 138, 140, 141, 152 

Army and Navy, In the 163 

Army and Navy Register 165 

Arnotts and Abercrombies 150 

"As long as grass grows and water runs".. 20, 22, 36, 42, 43, 121, 124 

Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island 55 

Autograf of David Boss 25 

Autograf of William Boss 125 

Autograf of William G. Boss 115 

Avery, Miss Marie S 20, 22, 111, 156 

Avery, Mrs. Mary, Letter from 156 

Baas 156 

"Baas," Dutch for Boss 156 

Bain's Calendar of Documents 72 

Ball, Rev. Eliphalet 34 

Ballston Spa 34 

Bass 47 

Bass vs. Boss 113 

Battle of North Point and Fort McHenry 165 

Beavill 134 

Bellenden, Translator of Hector Boles' Chronicles 71 

Beovill 134 

Berry Armorial de France 29 

Biville and Boville 126 

Blackwood 104 

Boas 14, 46, 81, 83, 97 

Boaz 83 

Bocche, Hew, "Grandschir to Maister Hector Boece" 17 

Boece, Hector, Chronicles of Scotland 17, 28 

Boece, Hector— See Boies or Bois, Hector. 

Boes 46, 82, 83 

Boethius. Hector 71 

Boice 14, SI 



180 

Boies or Bols, Hector 28, 45, 46, 71, 81, 82, 85 

Boies 46 

Boies', Hector, Chronicles 71 

Bois 27, 119. 126 

Bois Acre 103 

Bois, Extinction of 97 

Bois Glani 30 

Bois, Humfrey del 86 

Bois, the Sire de 7 

Bois, Walter 30 

Bols, William de— Clerk, Bishop, Lord Chancellor 86 

Boisi, lie de France 30 

Boises of Dryfsdale 30 

Bolss 14, 47 

Boist 16 

Bolull 142 

Boos 82 

Boosle 83 

Boost 16 

Bos 13, 14, 16, 38, 39, 45, 56, 70, 80, 97, 109, 110, 111 

Bos (Bosch), Cornells Teunise 109 

Bos (Bosch), Gysbert 110 

Bos, Jan Wlllemsen 38 

Bos, Jerome, Lewis Jansen and Gasper Vanden 118 

Bos, John, in County of Fife 13 

Bos, Lambert Van den 117 

Bos, Pleter Cornelisen 110 

Bos, Pieter Janse lift 

Bosch 39, 44, 56, 70 

Boseville 151 

Boseuill, or Bosuile 129 

Boss 46, 83 

Boss, Bossburg and Bossdale Postoffices 167 

Boss and Bass 151 

Boss, a Good Dutch Word 11 

Boss, an English term 18 

Boss, Andrew J 31, 41 

Boss, Abraham, Military Record of 166 

Boss, A. W., Letter from 170 

Boss, Charles F 159 

Boss, Charles F., Letter from 161 

Boss, Charles F., Letters to 170 

Boss' Corner 120 

Boss, C. S., of Bossburg, Letter from 159, 160 

Boss, Daniel W 19 

Boss, Definitions of 155, 156 

Boss, Earliest Mention of in County of Fife 13 

Boss, David 23, 24, 25, 32 

Boss, Edward 21, 39, 66, 70, 157 



181 

Boss, Edward, American Descendants of 159 

Boss, Edward, Some Particulars Concerning 55 

Boss, Edgar and Hester, Children of 177 

Boss, Ela W., Children of 173 

Boss, Etymology of 156 

Boss, George R., Dutch Ancestors of 157 

Boss, George R., Letter from 157 

Boss, George R., Portrait of Facing page 72 

Boss, George W., and Maryette, Children of 176 

Boss, Henry, of Hunterdon, N. J 106, 108 

Boss Family Numerous and Widely Spread 178 

Boss, Henry Ball 32 

Boss, Henry R., Ancestry 11 

Boss, Henry R., Portrait Facing page 24 

Boss, Henry R., to William Graham Boss 10, IS, 31, 49, 105, 153 

Boss, Homer B., Letter from 172 

Boss, Hiram 32, 36, 40 

Boss, Honas 68, 106, 108 

Boss, James, of Scotland 44 

Boss, Janet, Oswego, N. Y 15, 16 

Boss, Miss Jennie H., Letter from 176 

Boss, Captain John George, R. N 25, 151, 152 

Boss, John L., Jr., M. C 66 

Boss, Joseph, from Newport, R. 1 158 

Boss, Joseph, Royalist 38 

Boss, Leah (Storms), Portrait Facing page 40 

Boss, Lewis, Albany, N. Y 21 

Boss, Matthew, a Jew, in London 15 

Boss, Meaning of 11, 12, 15, 18 

Boss, Robert P 39, 40, 49, 66, 69 

Boss, Peter, Book by 166, 168 

Boss, Peter and Catherine, Children of 33, 176 

Boss, Peter, of Forestville 20, 32, 33, 34, 156, 157, 176 

Boss, Peter, Commander "Three Brothers" 16, 20, 27 

Boss, Philip, Children of 173 

Boss, SaUy, Wife of M. S. Wilkinson 116 

Boss, S. M., Leesburg, Va., Letter from 19 

Boss, Samuel M 170, 171, 172, 177 

Boss, Samuel M., Portrait Facing page 56 

Boss, Sylvia 11, 26, 41 

Boss, William 11, 23 

Boss, William, Autograf of 125 

Boss, William, Newport, Children of 158 

Boss, William, father of William Gamer Boss 11, 23 

Boss, William, son of William G 32 

Boss, William G., Autograf of U5 

Boss, William G. and Leah, Children of 32 

Boss, WilUam Garner 11, 32, 36, 40 

Boss, William Graham, Ancestry 14 



182 

Boss, William Graham, Nativity lo 

Boss, William Graham, Portrait Facing page 8 

Boss, William Graham, Postal-Card from 9 

Boss, William Graham, to Henry R. Boss 12, 16, 22, 41, 69, 119 

Bossch, Jan j^l 

Bosse ]j^9 

Bosse, Dr. Julius Robert I60 

Bosses Who Were Sailors 24, 25 

Bossall 152 

Bosswell j^23 

Bosseuyll 143 

Bosseuilla, Pagani de 127 

Boswell's Lands 145 145 

Boswel or Bosswell 121 

Boswel, Robin, in South of Scotland 149 

Boswells of Balmuto 125 

Bos well 28, 45, 96, 125, 126, 127, 130, 146, 147, 150, 151, 152 

Bosse Island 151 

Bosswell, David, "The Laird" 122 

Best 16, 80, 97 

Bousie 43, 47 

Bovill 134, 135 

Bowes 46, 83, 97, 108 

Bowhouse 83 

Bowls 82 

Bows 82 

Bowse 16, 43, 80, 103 

Bowsie 43, 47, 81, 83 

Bowosye 81 

Bowsy 81 

Boyce 47, 151 

Boyes 14, 47, 81, 83 

Boy-es 47 

Boyis 28, 45 

Boyl 137 

Boyle 137, 139 

Boyll 137 

Boys 16, 47, 70, 79, 119, 120 

Boys, Alexander 16 

Boys' Croft 27, 30 

Boys, David 16 

Boys, John and Thomas 45 

Boyse and Boyes in Norfolk and Wesford 112 

Boysfleld, Boysfeld, Boysfelld, Boyisfeld, Bosfeld, Bossfleld.... 120 

Boysis, lez 28 

Boyss 47 

Boyuil 137 

Boyuills or Bosseuylls 142 

Boyvil 131, 137 



183 

"British Family Names" 21 

Brown's (Goold) Grammar U^4 

Bruce Family 29 

Bruces lords of Annandale 30 

Brus, Robert de 72 

Buist 43, 83 

BuJe 137, 139 

Bullyn 137 

Burton's (Hill) History of Scotland 27 

Century Dictionary 155, 156 

Cliange from Bosswell to Boss 122 

Changes in Family Name 154 

Christian Names 85, 87, 96, 175 

Christian Names— William, Alexander, David, Andrew, James, 

John 16, 31 

Chronicles of Scotland....^ 17 

Church Connections , 26, 36 

Clarkson, N. Y., a Mystery Concerning .' U4 

"Clinton Papers" 38 

Colbeck, R. A., Letter from 113 

Continental Army, Officers of 166 

Connecticut Men in the Wars 163 

Crusaders 74, 75 

De, Del and Du 78-80 

de Bevill, de Boevill, de Bovile 126 

de Beville 131 

de Boiuil, David 129 

de Boiuill 138 

de Bois 14 

de Bois, Sir Andrew, Lord of Redcastl^ 77 

de Boisi, or Boissy 29, 30 

de Bois-ville 96 

de Boivil 133 

de Boivilla 131 

de Bos, or Bosville, Alexander 144 

de Boscho 14 

de Bosco 14 

de Bosuile 132 

de Boseville 136, 137 

de Boseville, Walter 147, 148 

de Boseville, William 144, 145 

de Boseville, William, Burgess of Roxburgh 143 

de Bovile 131 

de Bovill 134 

de Bovyll 131 

de Boyes 14 

de Boys 42 

de Boys, David 16 

de Boys, Henry 16 

de Boys, William 16 



184 



de Boy vile 140, 142 

de Boyvlll, William, Excommunicated 133 

de Boyville 130, 131, 135, 136, 137, 138 

de Bruis, Sire 73 

Deeds, Early, in New Jersey 107, 108 

Definitions of the Term Boss 155 

del Bois, Walter 30 

del Boys, Humfrey 72 

Derivation of "Boss" 155 

Difl3culties in Getting Information 153 

Du Bois 64 

du Bois 75, 76 

Dubois 64 

du Boy 64 

Donations to Kelso Abbey 127 

Douglas, Sir Robert, Baronage of Scotland 125 

Dryburgh Abbey, Donations to 144 

Dryfsdale, Barons of 17 

Dryfsdale House, Tbe 82 

Dutch or German Origin of the Name 119 

Dutch Settlement in New Jersey 107 

Dutch the Language of the New Jersey Bosses 108 

Dutch Words in America 155 

Early Scotch Chronicles 27 

East Kilbride, History of 120 

Errata 178 

Error Corrected 18, 19 

Essex, County of, England 151 

Etymology of "Boss" 156 

Exchequer Rolls 149 

Family Arms 17, 28, 29, 30 

Family Characteristics 14, 35 

Family Records 32, 33 

Family Resemblances 174 

Fiction, the Name in 97 

"Foreigners" in ColonLal Times 116 

Foreigners Imported 117, 150 

Freemasons 26, 160 

Freemasons, Saint John's Lodge, Dumfermline 26, 49 

French Origin of the Name 27, 29 

Garner, Was it a part of William G. Boss' Name? '. 109 

Germany vs. Holland 163 

Good Old Scotch Custom 23, 31, 175 

Gray, Sir Thomas 27 

Hamilton, Dr. A., Letter from 154 

Hanover Lodge, F. & A. M 160 

Heraldic Bearings 13S, 140,141 

Hervey, Sydenham Ha., Letter from 113 

Home or Hume, Town of 146, 147 



185 

Hunterdon, N. J., Bosses in lOg 

Indifference of Correspondents 106 

Influences on the Name 70, 71 

International Dictionary 155 

Jackson, Amy Boss 20, 157 

Jones, Hon. Fernando 169 

Kelso Abbey 127, 128, 132, 145, 146 

King David 72, 127, 129 

King Richard the First 75 

King William the Lion 27, 72, 96, 127 

Knox, John 18 

Lairds of Balmuto 122, 123 

Lands Bought of the Indians 157 

Large Families 175 

Larison, Dr 119 

Larison, Dr. C. W., Letters from 67, lOS 

Leslies, The 130 

Lerington Family 131 

Lindsay, Sir David 28 

Linscom or Liscom? 157 

Lords of Annandale 72 

Marriage Licenses in the Province of New York 36 

Maryland, Muster Rolls and other Records 165 

Masonic Connections 40, 160 

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolution 67 

McArtor, T. W., Letters from 170, 177 

Mechanicsburg, Pa 172, 177 

Miscellaneous Items 167 

Mohawk Dutch 20 

Mohawk Valley, Settlers in 44, 157 

Monosyllabic Forms 47 

Mouat, Andrew J 40 

Name, The, Charles F. Boss on 161 

Narragansett Historical Register 65 

Nativity, Proud of Their 108 

Newell, Mrs. Annie (Boss) 33 

New Amsterdam, Records of 110 

New Jersey, Ofl3cers and Men in the Revolution 163 

New Netherlands, Early Immigrants to Ill 

New York, Colonial History of 168 

New York in the Revolution 164 

Nicol, Jean ,.... 40 

Nisbet, the Herald 130, 142,146 

Norman Adventurers, Descendants of 126 

Norman Conquest 27 

Norman French 96 

Norman French Bearers of the Name 83 

Normans in Scotland 86 

Normandy, the Bois Family in 73 



186 

Normandy, the Bruce Fief in 73 

Old Smithfleld (Conn.) Records 65 

Origin of this Correspondence 3, 9 

"Original Lists of Persons of Quality," etc , 20 

Origin of the Name in Scotland 121 

Old Dutch Church at Kingston, Register of 56, 154 

Old Dutch Church in New York 18 

Painters, Sculptors, etc 169 

Panbrlde Branch, Arms of 17 

Panbride Family, The 17, 45, 46 

Pennsylvania Archives 116, 166 

Pennsylvania, Bosses in 167 

Pensioners, Census of 165 

Pensioners, Revolutionary 67 

Peter the Great 155 

Pious Customs 127 

Postal Facilities in Early Days 154 

Prisoners of War 147, 148 

Pronunciation of the Name 45, 47, 49 

Prophecy of Sybilla and Eltnain 139 

Provost Pawkie 98, 102 

Quakers 69 

Ragman Roll 135, 145 

Religious Connections 26, 36 

Rhode Island, Civil and Military List of 164, 168 

Richmond Family 66 

Richmond (R. I.) Town Records 65 

Roman Roads 131, 132 

Rose's Biographical Dictionary 117 

Saint Boisel 149 

Saint Boswell's 149 

Scotch in Holland and other European Countries 13 

Scotch Names of Seamen 150 

Scots Armorial 28 

Significations of the Name U, 15, 48, 49 

Smith, Sidney 160 

Spelling of the Name 38, 45, 128 

Spread of the Name in Scotland 84, 85 

Stapleton, Rev. A 116 

Storms, Catherine 32 

Storms, Leah, Catherine, etc 32, 33 

Strong, Elise A., Letter from 112 

Surnames, First Use of 86 

Surnames, One of the Oldest on Record 86 

Swift, Mrs. Betsey (Jackson) 20, 35 

Taxes for the Crusades 133 



Ter Bos ... 
Ter Bosch 
Terbosch . 



64 

64 

154 



187 

The Name, Boss 161 

Theories Concerning Family Name 154 

The Prefix "De" 73 

Three Brothers, Navigators 20, 24 

The "Three Brothers" 21, 150, 162 

Toronto, Canada, No Bosses in 155 

Town Drummer, The 98, 102 

Tradition Kept Alive 124 

Traditions 34, d5, 162 

Tum-Bouils 142 

Turnbull 154 

Turnbull or Tomebule 140, 141 

Turner, James W 4, 9 

Valentine's History of New York Ill 

Van der Bos, Jacob Will 112 

van Laer, Arnold J. F., Letter from 37, 38 

Vajiations in Spelling 47, 79 

Variations in the Name 71 

Various Forms of the Name 78, 79 

Vinsauf, Geoffrey de 75 

War Department Record 166 

Watt, Agnes 26, 40 

Why this Volume is not Extended , 178 

Wilkinson, Morton Smith 116 

Wilkinson, Susannah 39 

Wood, a Translation of Bois 104 






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